Higley Schools Blog

Yep, you got it — the fine folks over at the Arizona Republic recommended Geoff Johnston for the board. They also recommended Denise Standage and Greg Land. Here is the link to the article and the paragraph about me:

The same goes for Johnston, a political newcomer and concerned parent who wants to make a difference by tapping parent and teacher groups to improve communication. He understands that boosting parent satisfaction starts at the top and trickles down to teachers, students and parents.

It is an interesting mix they recommend. It sounds like they would like to see some differing or even opposing views on the board and that is why they are recommending the incumbent, Standage. See my opinions on the candidates here.

The following is a guest post from governing board candidate Greg Land. As I mentioned in my post on the candidates, I am pulling for Greg to be elected the HUSD board. - Geoff

Friends and neighbors,

I am hoping everyone is planning on voting in this upcoming election on November 4, 2008. There will be a lot of important issues on the ballot, turnout is predicted to be high and lines could be long. It is important to be informed on all the issues you are voting on and I would not want anyone to feel rushed for any reason, including if they stood in line longer than they had planned on. I have gathered the following important links and information for voter registration, early voting and identification requirements at the polls. I hope you find this helpful and please forward it to anyone you feel might be interested.

Continue reading ‘Guest post from Greg Land: Voter information and links’ »

There will be a candidate forum for the five people running for three open seats on the HUSD governing board. See here for my current take on the five candidates. The forum will be from 7:00-8:30 PM a “The Barn”, a facility off of Ranch House Road in north Power Ranch. Everyone is invited.

Here are the questions that each of the candidates will be asked tonight and some of my thoughts on the subjects:
Continue reading ‘A preview of tonight’s candidate forum’ »

There was an interesting opinion piece over at the Arizona Republic recently pointing out that the election decision that might have the most impact on the value of your home is not at the top of the ballot but near the bottom with the school board elections. Here is an excerpt:

Continue reading ‘Housing prices and school districts connected’ »

I have talked with several parents who are deeply concerned about classes in some of our schools being overcrowded. Heck, I’m a parent with such concerns. My 6th grade daughter has a math class with something like 38 students in it. In most of the schools the kindergarten classes are the major issue with more children coming in than the district expected this year. Emily over at the AZ Republic wrote an interesting article on the subject recently. Here is a link to the article and here are some excerpts:

Continue reading ‘Interesting article on oversized HUSD classrooms’ »

Meet me and all the other candidates for the HUSD Governing Board next week in the first of two forums being conducted by the Higley teachers union (aka the HEA). Here is the announcement that just came out from the HUSD listserv:

The Higley Education Association (HEA) will host two Higley School District Governing Board Candidate Forums where all five candidates running for the Board will be present. There are three seats for which the five candidates are running. To be able to make an informed decision, please attend one or both of the following forums:

September 23 - Power Ranch Clubhouse “Barn” located on Ranch Road between Germann and Pecos at 7:00 pm

October 28 - The Small Auditorium at the Higley Center for Performing Arts at 7:00 pm

Emily Gersema over at the AZ Republic wrote a very interesting article recently that is definitely worth a read. 

Apparently current board member and board candidate Denise Standage is feeling miffed that she was not endorsed by the folks over at Change In HUSD.   (Yeah, you read right…  the incumbent candidate is irked about not being endorsed by a group called Change In HUSD…) Well more specifically, she is miffed that after she missed the appointment they went ahead and made their endorsements anyway. We get this gem of a quote from the article:
Continue reading ‘“that’s political suicide.”’ »

There are three seats up for election on the Higley school board, with the terms expiring this year for governing board members Nancy Eugenis, Ed Moore, and Denise Standage (board members Vanessa Whitener and Kim Anderson both have two years remaining on their terms). There are five candidates running for those three open spots on the HUSD; Geoff Johnston (that’s me), Paul Howell, Greg Land, Taunya Lofgreen, and Denise Standage. Another candidate, Carolyn Starr, pulled out of the race a few weeks ago. (I have been told that Carolyn sent an email around endorsing me and Greg Land in her stead, so I am grateful for that.) Here is an article on the candidates that Hayley Ringle published over at the EVTrib some time ago.

Anyway, here is my honest take on the candidates based on what I know so far: Continue reading ‘My take on the candidates for the Higley school board’ »

I had an interesting conversation with a teacher recently. In defense of the district and its current leadership this teacher mustered up a “Well, I’ve been teaching a long time and I can say that I’ve seen worse than we are experiencing here”.

Is that the best we can do? Really? We get the distinction of not being the worst district this veteran teacher has seen in decades of dedicated service as a teacher?
Continue reading ‘Editorial: “I’ve seen worse”’ »

I was very pleased to see that the folks at Change In HUSD and PAC-HUSD have endorsed me, along with Greg Land and Paul Howell, for the Higley Schools Governing Board. I think they have chosen well. (See here for my take on the candidates.) The board vote is part of the general election coming up in November. Here is the press release:

The leaders of Change in HUSD and PAC (Parent Advisory Council)-HUSD have joined forces for the purpose of endorsing 3 candidates for the November school board election. Together with a panel of parents and community members they invited candidates on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week to meet and answer set questions regarding issues of concern that have been expressed by parents and community members in each organization. Questions touched on treatment of teachers and staff, hiring practices, following district policies and procedures, Special Education IEP’s, why the candidate is running for HUSD school board and what goals he/she has for HUSD if elected to the board.

After careful consideration, Change in HUSD and PAC-HUSD feel that candidates Geoff Johnston, Paul Howell and Greg Land best represent the parents these organizations have been in communication with. The candidates strongly believe that morale and trust need to be re-established in the HUSD community and are prepared to work to that end. The common threads between these candidates are 1) a belief that our children deserve the best leadership possible and that leaders need to be held accountable, 2) their ability to analyze information and make fair judgments and 3) a shared pride in our community and the vision that our school district can be a premier district in the State of Arizona. “I believe Geoff Johnston, Greg Land and Paul Howell are the candidates that parents and community members have been looking for. They’re committed to bringing about the positive change that Change in HUSD and PAC-HUSD are looking for and we’re happy to stand behind them,” said Stacey Christensen of Change in HUSD. Michelle Rigby of Change in HUSD states, “I am confident that Greg Land, Paul Howell and Geoff Johnston will be able to have a great working relationship with existing board members Kim Anderson and Venessa Whitener. There are good things happening now in HUSD and I believe these candidates will expand those positive elements. Our district has a great future.”

Regretfully, incumbent Denise Standage canceled her interview due to a scheduling conflict. The interview panel felt confident in their assessment of Standage based on her voting record, interaction at public meetings, and previous conversations with members of Change in HUSD.

Following this endorsement, Change In HUSD and PAC-HUSD will be active in spreading the word about candidates Geoff Johnston, Paul Howell and Greg Land, so community members can make an informed decision. Information about the three candidates, as well as how to get involved with each candidate’s campaign will be posted on www.ChangeInHUSD.blogspot.com.

Construction on the new elementary school in Power Ranch is about to begin. Here is the district announcement if you didn’t get it:

Dear Higley Parents and Community Members,

Please join us for the Groundbreaking Ceremony for Centennial Elementary School on Monday, September 8th at 6:00 pm at Ranch House Parkway and Fenceline Parkway. Centennial school will open in August 2009 as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our school district.

The school was designed by Gilleland Brubaker Architects and will be constructed by DL Withers Construction. The new two story design will accommodate 1250 students.

Sincerely,

Dr. Joyce Lutrey
Superintendent
Higley Unified School District

[UPDATE]

Dear Higley Parents and Community,

There is a date change for the Groundbreaking Ceremony for Centennial Elementary School. It will be Tuesday, September 9th at 6:00 pm at Ranch House Parkway and Fenceline Parkway (south of Pecos Road).

We hope you will be able to join us.

This new school will do a lot to relieve the overcrowding issue Power Ranch Elementary if currently facing.

And if you are not signed up to get the HUSD email announcements yet see here.

Hayley Ringle over at the EVTrib wrote and interesting article recently about a plot of land being considered for a future third HUSD high school.

The land is reportedly located just east of Cortina near Rittenhouse. It sounds like the idea is just in the nascent stages and there are some issues with both budget and the lot, but I thought our readers would be interested nevertheless.

So have you heard some of the horror stories I have heard from HUSD teachers?

Here are some good ones:

- One teacher told me that she was chewed out severely for speaking with a board member at all without an administrator present. Yup — apparently it was a no-no for teachers to have any direct contact with governing board members.

- Another told me that he was forced to sign off on false documents regarding the tools provided for a special needs student. He said that is a regular practice in the district.
Continue reading ‘Editorial: Teacher Morale Again, or, The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves’ »

I’ve worked in plenty of companies in my day where employee morale was low. It is never a pleasant experience and in such situations people tend to jump ship when the opportunity presents itself.

I’m seeing a major morale problem at HUSD among teachers. Now admittedly I have not surveyed a lot of teachers in other districts so it is possible that low teacher morale is a problem plaguing our neighboring school districts as well, but I suspect the issue is especially bad in HUSD these days.

Here are some of the themes I have heard from our teachers:
Continue reading ‘Editorial: The HUSD problem with teacher morale’ »