Log in

Opinion

Olson: Jacobs, Beasley and Hassler have earned my vote

Posted

Of the many opinions that have been offered for the SUSD school board race, I’m noticing an interesting trend.

Individuals supporting Jacobs, Beasley and Hassler continue to state that SUSD is in a difficult spot while backing up their claims with actual – and shocking – data. Consider the repeated statistics that only 34% of SUSD’s 9th grade students are proficient in science and less than half of 8th graders in math. More than 2,200 students have left SUSD in the past few years.

The community has provided detailed endorsements for Jacobs, Beasley and Hassler. Scottsdale City Council member and member-elect Kathy Littlefield and Jan Dubauskas have also given fact-filled endorsements. Jacobs, Beasley and Hassler have done their research and identified issues that need to be solved. 

In stark comparison, opinions favoring their opponents contain generalities about public school love, community pride, a desire for pleasant school board meetings and concern about home values. While this is warm, fuzzy and sentimental, it ignores the real problems our schools are facing.

Either Pittinsky, Sharkey and Lewis are clueless about the actual state of SUSD, or worse, they seemingly wish to hide the decline in our kids’ education for the sake of their home values.  

All three of my children are high school students in SUSD and have continuously attended school in this district since pre-kindergarten. I attended school in SUSD from kindergarten to graduation and it's clear to me that SUSD has real problems. Problems that are negatively impacting Scottsdale’s children and that negatively impacts Scottsdale. As a community, we owe it to our kids to offer the “world-class” education SUSD promises in their marketing campaigns.  

Gretchen Jacobs, Jeanne Beasley and Drew Hassler have proven that they are committed to taking their roles seriously. They have earned my vote.  

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.