The Higley Unified School District has three open seats being decided in the November election, but under two different conditions.
While there are three candidates competing for two full-term, four-year seats, the third seat is to fill former Board Member Scott Glover's final two years on the board. However, because of the timing of Glover's resignation in July, it is a write-in election.
The qualified write-in candidates are Kurt Brooks, Kathleen Richards and Travis White. Votes for any other person written will not be counted under Arizona law.
Independent Newsmedia sent a questionnaire to the six HUSD candidates. Among the write-ins, two responded. Kurt Brooks did not. Here is what the respondents wrote.
Two-year candidates
Kathleen Richards
Occupation: Substitute teacher with ESI
Travis White
Occupation: Information security executive
What do you believe are the priorities for the district during the duration of the term you seek?
Richards: Funding is at the top of the list. Our infrastructure is showing significant signs of aging. We need a specific list of campus needs, to spread the word honestly amongst our constituents and develop a viable plan to manage aging buildings and support systems.
We also need to take a long, hard look at curriculums requiring updates. This comes at significant cost and ties back to funding.
Additionally, we need to explore other income streams. Mesa Public Schools has partnerships leasing unused district space to organizations. We’ve done this successfully at Power Ranch Elementary, but I believe further exploration is necessary.
White: My focus during my two years on the school board will be to ensure stability in the classrooms, strong enrichment for all students, and fiscally responsible governance. In order to keep great teachers in our classrooms, I believe that they need to be paid fairly, to be respected as the professionals they are, and to have the resources that they need to teach. I will fight to keep the elementary specials (art, music, PE, STEM) and dual language immersion. Using my executive risk background, I will review vendor contracts so taxpayer dollars keep our students safe and promote achievement.
What do you see as the state of the district at present — is it excelling or failing?
Richards: I think Higley school district has a hole with our students showing undeniable success. I do not think we shout about our successes enough. I also do not think we speak honestly enough about our needs. If I were to give our district a letter grade for our state of existence it would be a B.
White: Even though Higley’s student achievement and community involvement are exemplary and our schools are A-rated (our teachers do an amazing job every day), there are several issues that face our district including teacher turnover, aging facilities, and limited funds. So even though Higley is not failing, we cannot continue to conduct business as usual. We need a board member who is practical, data driven and willing to listen to the parents and teachers of Higley and make the most of our tax dollars to ensure that they are going into our classrooms.
Assuming no additional funding is coming from overrides or bonds, how do you propose to balance the district's budget, including what should be protected and what areas have potential for cuts?
Richards: They are going to be incredibly difficult choices. I think we’ll see fees increase for families, which will be difficult on the average Higley household. I do not support eliminating elementary specials, but these may now come at a personal cost to families.
We’ll also have to take a long, hard look at high school and middle school programs and eliminate those with less interest.
Additionally, we should explore Mesa Public Schools’ model at Eagle Ridge, a campus offering enrichment for ESA students. It is a way to claw back some of the dollars our Legislature denies public schools and puts in private pockets.
White: I would balance a budget with no new funding by protecting the classroom first. I would protect competitive teacher salaries, classroom materials and all of the elementary specials such as art, music, PE, STEM and dual language immersion. These programs keep students engaged in school and are not extras that get cut. I review large vendor contracts for a living, so I would look to cut duplicative spending and review administrative overhead for efficiency. I will use my experience as an information security executive to find real efficiencies to keep taxpayer dollars focused on students.
Should the governing board allow educators to travel to conferences that have sessions on diversity, equity and inclusion if the educator agrees not to attend such sessions?
Richards: Yes. I do not believe that we need to continue making false outrage a thing. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not the buzz words certain individuals would like you to think they are. In this day and age of differentiation in classrooms, any educator conference that exists is going to have sessions that are labeled with DEI. The idea that we would eliminate the ability for teachers to attend a conference because DEI is mentioned anywhere on their roster is absolutely bananas to me.
White: Yes. School board members are charged with governing for student achievement and fiscal responsibility, not acting as ideologues trying to dictate the work of teachers. While there are many sessions offered at the major professional development conferences for teachers (including STEM, literacy, and school counseling), school travel should be approved based on academic merit and financial return on investment for Higley students. Teachers are trusted professionals and we must treat them as such. Restrictive surveillance of them at legitimate professional development sessions will only serve to further erode teacher morale and damage recruitment efforts. That will not improve academic outcomes for students.
The district has faced debates over allowing specific books in the curriculum with the option for parents to request an alternative assignment. Do you support maintaining an alternative-assignment policy for curriculum materials, and how would you balance parental input with academic standards?
Richards: This is the ultimate support for parent choice. This is the definition of parental involvement. If you were child comes home with something you do not feel comfortable with you have the right to ask for an alternative assignment. Our district has shown time and time again support for this system and putting the system to use. Again, I do not believe that we need to spend more time with faux outrage.
White: I agree we should continue to offer an alternative assignment to parents who want one for their child rather than the material given to other students in the class. When a parent asks for an alternative assignment, we have to provide them with an assignment that is just as high quality and academically sound. This does not mean assignments should be watered down. Offering an alternative respects parental involvement and builds a good partnership with families, while keeping our academic standards high and our focus squarely on student learning.
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. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him on X at @sp_blodgett.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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