An out-of-state travel request to a teaching convention ignited another clash Wednesday among Higley Unified School District governing board members.
Ultimately, the board approved the request for instructional coach Rebecca Rodriguez to attend the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ 2023 Convention and World Languages Expo on Nov. 17-19 in Chicago. The vote was 4-0 with President Tiffany Shultz absent.
But when the item first was presented at the meeting, Board Member Anna Van Hoek pushed back against spending taxpayer money on a convention where the keynote speakers are social-justice activists and some workshops presented on topics like equity-minded and inclusive language teaching practices.
