Trouble in Gilbert Schools (Phoenix, Chandler: fit in, 2014, homes)

[Ponderosa]

I see a good number of posts from people who are attracted to Gilbert because of its reputation for good schools. The news this morning is quite disturbing in that regard. As this is something potential new residents would never see from where they live now, I am bringing it up so you can consider it in your decision of where you might want to move to in the Phoenix area.

There is trouble in the Gilbert schools in the form of struggles for control between educators and parents and the very conservative Gilbert town council. It culminated in a very testy meeting last night. Parents and teachers contend that some on the town council are following a personal and political agenda that is not in the best interests of education. It made headlines in the local paper this morning and the story will give you the details, but this caught my eye and would make me think twice about the future of Gilbert schools:

Many teachers speaking to the board at the meeting said that educators are now looking to leave the district.

“In the past teachers, looked forward to coming to work. Now they are looking for a way out,” one teacher said.

Several parents and teachers cried while speaking; many said they were embarrassed to live in the district.

“Gilbert Public Schools has become the laughing stock of the Valley,” said retired teacher Sue Peterson.


http://www.azcentral.com/community/g...html#protected

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I see a good number of posts from people who are attracted to Gilbert because of its reputation for good schools. The news this morning is quite disturbing in that regard. As this is something potential new residents would never see from where they live now, I am bringing it up so you can consider it in your decision of where you might want to move to in the Phoenix area.

There is trouble in the Gilbert schools in the form of struggles for control between educators and parents and the very conservative Gilbert town council. It culminated in a very testy meeting last night. Parents and teachers contend that some on the town council are following a personal and political agenda that is not in the best interests of education. It made headlines in the local paper this morning and the story will give you the details, but this caught my eye and would make me think twice about the future of Gilbert schools:

Many teachers speaking to the board at the meeting said that educators are now looking to leave the district.

“In the past teachers, looked forward to coming to work. Now they are looking for a way out,” one teacher said.

Several parents and teachers cried while speaking; many said they were embarrassed to live in the district.

“Gilbert Public Schools has become the laughing stock of the Valley,” said retired teacher Sue Peterson.


http://www.azcentral.com/community/g...html#protected

While GPS has been an A rated district for two years now, they are actually ranked overall behind the Queen Creek, Higley, and Chandler Districts. Many people used to (and some still do) avoid the Higley district mostly due to them being lesser known than GPS, but now the Higley district is one of the highest rated districts in the state.

[KurtAZ]

Interesting...and I would have to agree...why would you appoint a liar...er sorry...LAWYER...in as a Superintendent of your school district?

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

While GPS has been an A rated district for two years now, they are actually ranked overall behind the Queen Creek, Higley, and Chandler Districts. Many people used to (and some still do) avoid the Higley district mostly due to them being lesser known than GPS, but now the Higley district is one of the highest rated districts in the state.

Top School listings:

| Arizona Department of Education

[AZJoeD]

Interesting article, we had a similar situation in the Cave Creek School District about 8 or 9 years ago. Several of the school board members had their own agenda. They got elected to further their access to school properties and resources for non-educational purposes. It got very political and we went through several superintendents and board members before it finally settled down. It took a lot of parent organization and faculty cooperation to get the focus back on education of the students. It seems to have gone back to business in the last few years, but there was a time when faculty and students were leaving the district because they felt they were not being taken seriously.

It is unfortunate, but anyone with a little money and clout can easily get elected to a school board (you only need a few hundred votes) and create lots of havoc. Schools have millions of dollars that need to be allocated, properly, and for the benefit of the students. It is too easy to siphon some of that money to suppliers, vendors and non-educational organizations for their benefit instead of the children. I am not sure just what is happening in Gilbert, but parents and faculty need to get together and work towards keeping education in the forefront and run the politicians out of town.

I am sure that it will work itself out in time.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

See https://www.facebook.com/CourageToLead

The school board member Daryl Colvin buy seems to be a real peach!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

See https://www.facebook.com/CourageToLead

The school board member Daryl Colvin buy seems to be a real peach!

I see his candidate was a Farnsworth. For those who don't recognize it, the Farnsworth family is an Arizona pioneer name. They were among the early LDS settlers and have been very successful as Farnsworth Realty and Management over the decades. Nominating him, particularly when has absolutely no experience in education is par for the course in the religious nepotism that goes on in the southeast valley and was once commonplace in the entire state. Gilbert has seen a huge influx of non-Mormons over the past 20 years. Even though the LDS members are now a minority, they still fill most of the positions of authority in Gilbert including the school board. From the sound of the school board meetings there appears to be a struggle underway to change that.

[Noregrets11]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I see his candidate was a Farnsworth. For those who don't recognize it, the Farnsworth family is an Arizona pioneer name. They were among the early LDS settlers and have been very successful as Farnsworth Realty and Management over the decades. Nominating him, particularly when has absolutely no experience in education is par for the course in the religious nepotism that goes on in the southeast valley and was once commonplace in the entire state. Gilbert has seen a huge influx of non-Mormons over the past 20 years. Even though the LDS members are now a minority, they still fill most of the positions of authority in Gilbert including the school board. From the sound of the school board meetings there appears to be a struggle underway to change that. It is just a shame that the parents and the voters do not take notice of these kind of dealings and make their voices heard at the ballot box.

Thanks for the link to the article and for this posting. I suspected an undertone of religious bias on behalf of the board, and now it appears my suspicions have been confirmed. Hopefully the parents and teachers are successful in standing up for themselves!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Noregrets11

Thanks for the link to the article and for this posting. I suspected an undertone of religious bias on behalf of the board, and now it appears my suspicions have been confirmed. Hopefully the parents and teachers are successful in standing up for themselves!

The line between church and state can get pretty blurred in Arizona. Still, I am a little incredulous that the politicos in Gilbert, most of whom make or made their money by building homes for newcomers, are so against funding and promoting education. It does not take reading of many threads on this forum to realize that quality public schools are at the top of the list for people considering relocation. Good public schools are one of the reasons that Gilbert has exploded in population. Now, there seems to be a group out that way and in our state legislature that has completely lost sight of that. Their parents, who worked so hard to build those schools and the reputation of the east valley, should take them to the woodshed.

For the time being, it looks like sanity has won the day as they selected the woman from CT. I have to wonder though, after reading the article, whatever motivated her to seek a job in a state that seems to detest public education like Arizona does. Weather maybe.

[sandy6879]

She was superintendent of Hartford Public Schools - I'd take any other job I could, pay cut or not, to get out of there too. Hopefully she can instill some sensibility back into the district.