Chandler school board OKs dual-enrollment agreement with U of A

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Dual-enrollment course agreements between universities and school districts are routine and are often approved on consent agendas.

One such contract between Chandler Unified and the University of Arizona was extended by the CUSD Governing Board at its Oct. 8 meeting — but by the narrowest of margins, and after a lengthy discussion.

Board member Kurt Rohrs, along with fellow board member Ryan Heap, tried to convince the rest of the board to remove a course Rohrs said is a “heavy dose of politics” from a list of courses mentioned in a U of dual-enrollment agreement with CUSD, but the motion to approve it as-presented passed by a 3-2 margin.

Rohrs said “PPEL 101 — Markets & Morality” is a political course that shouldn’t be taught to high school students. He said the fact it’s listed as part of U of A’s Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law degree program indicates to him that’s neither a business nor a marketing course and has no place for CUSD students.

“I kind of read it as Marxist economic doctrine,” Rohrs said. “That’s preferred by some of the socialist professors we have there. It’s a heavy dose of politics. Some people complain about political indoctrination we have in schools. This would be an example. It’s not something we should be teaching in our high schools.

Rohrs read a few of the “central questions” listed on arizona.edu in the PPEL 101 course description, such as “Why do some societies grow rich while other societies remain poor?,” “What must a person do to succeed in market society?” and “What must a person do to deserve to succeed?”

Board President Patti Serrano disagreed, reading some of the more entrepreneur-centered questions from the course description herself. She added that the board regularly hears from parents encouraging more teaching of critical-thinking skills.

PPEL 101 would be a new addition to the list of U of A-offered dual-enrollment classes, with ENGR 102 and two other classes, both currently offered, continuing to be offered.

The consolidated agreement runs through the 2029-30 school year.

CUSD Assistant Superintendents Jessica Edgar and Mike De La Torre both mentioned procedural details of how a college course becomes a Chandler-offered class.

Not only is the request for a particular type of course initiated by school staff themselves, each course must align with state and district standards and be vetted by both an instructional coach and the district’s course catalog approval process for new classes.

De La Torre said an instructional course determined PPEL 101 aligns with the macro- and microeconomic standards of a Chandler course called SOC 420.

Rohrs initially moved for PPEL 101 to be removed from the short list of courses, with Heap seconding the motion. The board voted against the motion, 3-2, with Rohrs saying he’s “very disappointed.”

The board then voted, 3-2, to approve the contract extension as-presented.

Jason W. Brooks can be reached at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our  Civility Guidelines.

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Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.