Litchfield school district board member resigns after five months: "I will not be a part of this sinking ship"
The sole Black board member cites treatment from colleagues, district administration as reason for exit
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Litchfield has this culture of ‘were gonna do it Litchfield’s way,’ because we’ve been doing this for 104 years and it’s worked...But as society changes and the demographics of this community changes…your ways should change.”
This article was updated Aug. 27, at 11:30 a.m. to include a statement from LESD board member Jeremy Hoenack.
Dr. Tara Armstead resigned from her position as a Litchfield Elementary School District board member on Aug. 24 after spending just five months as the body’s sole Black member.
Armstead said she felt continually sidelined and ignored by her colleagues and district administration.
She said she was optimistic when she was appointed to the board on March 25 following the departure of Alayne Weathersby, who resigned in January after her family moved out of the district.
But Armstead said she found herself on a board embroiled in controversy over its methods of tackling student equity, among other issues.
By May, she had obtained a court injunction for harassment against fellow board member Jeremy Hoenack, who had sent emails to district parents claiming Armstead was “a cop- hater and BLM-supporter,” a liar and a “thug,” attacks on her character that she said had caused her to fear for her safety.
“I’m not up here to side with Black Lives Matter, critical race theory, whatever these paradigms are,” but to help children to succeed, Armstead said when the board discussed equity goals at an April 13 board meeting. “If we are arguing with each other now, what are we teaching our children?” she said.
Armstead attended her final board meeting on Aug. 24.
“The district knew what I was all about,” she told Independent Newsmedia. “They knew my heart behind it and yet they didn’t… want me there. They didn’t want to hear me. That’s where that hurt comes from.”
In response to her departure, the district released a short statement attributed to Litchfield Elementary School District Superintendent Jodi Gunning.
“School board service is demanding work with many competing priorities,” the statement read. “We are grateful for our governing board members who commit their time and energy to support nearly 11,000 students and nearly 1,400 employees. We thank Dr. Armstead for her service and wish her all the best.”
I’m STILL here, I just have more time now to do more of what I’ve done for the last 15 years!https://t.co/Tgbi5YsC9e
Litchfield Elementary School District is going through a demographic shift, according to data from the Arizona Department of Education.
Non-white students outnumbered white students in the 2019-20 school year for the first time in the district’s history, with Hispanic students making up 42.4% and white students making up 41.5% of the population.
Black students made up just 6.7% of the student population in the 2019-20 school year, a decrease from previous years. Black students made up 7.4% of the student body in the 2017-18 school year, according to department of education data.
The district is faced with another set of data: academic achievement and discipline disparities between its white and non-white students.
Though they made up a small percentage of the student population, Black students accounted for nearly 19% of district suspensions during the 2019-20 school year, and AzMERIT test data showed lower math and English scores for Black and Latino students when compared to their white counterparts.
Armstead said when she joined the board in March, she was aware the district had certain “blind spots.” She had once worked as a physical education instructor at Belen Soto, and her son had attended an LESD school.
But she said she was surprised at her treatment by colleagues and district administration. Despite her doctorate in education and 15 years experience as an educator, Armstead said she was not treated as an expert in her field.
When she raised concerns and made suggestions regarding district policies, such as ‘conscious discipline,’Armstead said she was shut down.
Conscious discipline uses breathing exercises and other methods that could be counterproductive and infantilizing when used with older students, she said, adding the strategy could be part of the reason the school was seeing high rates of discipline actions against students of color.
“It could be the methods that you’re using to deescalate those students,” she said.
The district did not want to listen, Armstead said.
“They were not hearing me...”it was as though I wasn’t who I am in education.”
It’s part of a larger culture at Litchfield that Armstead characterized as dismissive and stuck in the past.
She’s worked in other public school districts, in collegiate and alternative education, but Armstead said Litchfield school district was unique in its treatment of racial issues and other sensitive topics.
“What I see with Litchfield is that there’s a dismissal, there’s no discussion, there’s no conversation, until it has become almost an escalated situation,” Armstead told Independent Newsmedia.
“Litchfield has this culture of ‘We're gonna do it Litchfield’s way,’ because we’ve been doing this for 104 years and it’s worked,” she said. “But as society changes and the demographics of this community changes…your ways should change.”
Armstead said she felt the issues the district sought to correct — disproportionate rates of discipline and lower test scores for non-white students — “those issues were not being addressed,” she said, adding that “it’s not always just a racial issue… it’s a culture issue,” suggesting the district should take more time to better understand their students.
In her statement of resignation, which was uploaded to YouTube, Armstead said she had no one to thank on the board and said she “will not be a part of this sinking ship.”
"I wasn’t here to serve adults, I was here to serve children,” she said in the statement. “There is a reason why people of color exit environments…it’s because it's finally time to move forward and let God put his hand in the situation.”
Board President Danielle Clymer and Superintendent Gunning told the media they wished Armstead the best going forward.
Jeremy Hoenack told Independent Nesmedia in an email on Aug. 27 that he wishes "only the best for Dr. Armstead."
Madeline Ackley can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.
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