HUSD would save money on utilities if the entire office was shut down for a day- but the climate control still runs at full force, computers are all plugged in, and for employees that do go to work- lights come on, as do PCs.

And it was the administrations’ decision to stay open for tax credit donations (since HUSD doesn’t let parents choose where their money goes, all the easier for it to go right into the Administrators pockets). I don’t think Mr. Land had any say in this. Mr. Land though, was relaying the fact that CUSD did have tamales on the days that their district was open for donations, and the amount of money that was raised.

I think Greg’s comment about time off was in consideration to all the Administrators’ perks. The administrators already get 15-23 days of vacation each year PLUS spring and winter breaks. SO tax payers are giving a dozen plus employees over a month of vacation? Maybe the administrators should be the ones manning the office these additional days. I hope board members are not going to be at the office during the holiday. They already have FT jobs, and being part of the board is a volunteer task- one for which the community voted them. We should be thankful that the board is pushing for over rides and donations,so our kids can get some of what they need.

I am confused by this sentance..what are you saying?
“When they have to only put in their 8 hours their salary….”
If you are saying- Administrators put in 8 hours days and THEY ARE salary, but when it comes to 10 hour days they want to be hourly…
I highly doubt that. Administrator payscale is quite different from all the other payscales. Read the blog that talks about all their benefits and other perks. That is what gets me, as a tax payer, the most. No one that works for the state needs a $200,000 life insurance policy, gas expense (especially when HUSD’s boundaries cover a 25 square mile radius!), med benefits or option for cash out….great use of our voted over ride money. That is perhaps why it only passed by 2% of the vote.

Christopher, I would like to thank you for your service and for getting involved, I strongly support both. I am sorry you are not comfortable with me and I would be glad to meet / talk with you. info@vote4gregland.com or home # 480 988-2674. If anyone has questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I have been involved in the district since 2001, my kids attend Chaparral Elementary and I have been a strong supporter of the district students and employees and their programs. I won’t bore everyone with my bio, but please believe me when I say I care about our students, staff and community.

I have been a strong supporter of athletics, academics and special education. I worked with previous special education directors and teachers. Until a few months ago, I was only aware of the tip of the iceberg when it came to problems in our special education department. I have been talking and meeting with current and previous special education teachers, meeting with parents and students and have even sat in on some IEP meetings. I have been involved with the parent support group PACHUSD@cox.net. It is appalling what these families have to go through to get the minimum legally required services. And many of the students still are not getting the services they need and deserve. We are degrading the educational experience and success for both special education and general education students by not providing enough support in the classrooms. We have lost multiple special education teachers and school counselors due to the hostile work environment and lack of support, including another from Higley High in the last two weeks.

I believe and try to teach my kids that integrity takes a lifetime to build and an instant to lose. I want to build cooperative and collaborative groups to help make positive changes in the district but there is no “you scratch my back & I’ll scratch yours”.

The last two years our % of each dollar that has made it into the classrooms has been decreasing. The most current numbers are from 2007 which will not reflect a lot of the recently added administration positions. We need to look at how top heavy we are in this district. It appears we have too many Generals and not enough Sergeants and Privates.

Again I will ask everyone to vote for the override. This will only maintain the current funding level, our district needs more funding, not less.

As we get near the end of the year, please also make the tax credit donations our schools. This is a great way to support the programs / schools of your choice and it is basically free (or reimbursed). The money goes directly to the schools without the State taking a percentage. Please help me push to get the district to stay open on 12/31/08. Chandler schools took in $1.8 million by staying open and passing out tamales. I had family members go by our district office only to find it locked up, no one home. How much money did we pass up?

Greg Land

Christopher, I have to disagree with you on Mr. Land being a shady character. I remember when he was on the board a few years ago, and I didn’t see a lot of action at the time (but then again I wasn’t as involved as I am now). However, I have spoken with Greg on serveral occasions- both in public, and in 1 on 1 conversations, and I feel he is truely an advocate for our kids!
He has admitted there are things that he would do differntly this term from his previous term. For instance- he would question administrators more (especially regarding budget issues) unlike Ms. Standage who just accepts what is presented to her without asking the hard questions and asking for proof and demanding accountability. Greg also plans to be more open to the concerns of the employees (which he started even before the current campaign began).

On the subject of Ms. Standage and the budget…she did admit that she was “not an accountant” and did not understand the budget in detail, but was shown in graphs and pie charts how it all worked out. Anyone who has taken a stats class can tell you that stats can be made to show any intended result. I do not think she should have claimed that the other candidates were “misinformed”. In my opinion, it is just the contrary. The other candidates are trying to see through what is presented to the public and get actuall information, while she is just eating up that which is handed to her.

Greg made a good point by saying that she gets her information from only 1 source, and that source is HUSD (which has been all over the news for frivilous spending). One information source makes for a biased and uneducated point of view. Ms. Standage claims to be a supporter of the teachers by getting them the professional development they need. That is great and all, but has she talked to any teachers? I think they would tell her that their most important needs are things like classroom supplies, having classroom aides for special needs students, and being supported from administrators.

Geoff wants to shine a spotlight on the handling of the districts’ money and I think that is a great thing! I want to know that my tax dollars are going toward my kids. Also, check out other districts’ websites who have their budgets online. Why should community members need to ask for that information and then have to wait a week to get it? If it is there for all to see, then maybe more community members would take an intrest in our schools.
And thanks to Taunya who proudly said that she was going to fully examine where every budget dollar was going before voting that it be spent (including employee contracts). Had the current board done that in the past- as Ms. Anderson tries to do- maybe HUSD would not be in the mess it is in now.

Kudos to the candidates who realize there is a morale (culture) problem in our district. I know that those who work in HUSD have talked to Greg, Paul, Geoff, and Taunya about their concerns because they trusted these candidates, and I know that the employees support these candidates. People only confide in those they trust, that may be why certain candidates are unaware of the lack of trust and integrity that exisits.

One final note (sorry, I have a lot to say), I appreciate that Paul, Taunya, Greg, and Geoff seem to share ideas on how to improve the district. These candidates could easily work as a team and come up with solutions to our problems. At least they did not sit on the panel last night shaking their heads and rolling their eyes as the others spoke. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but please act professionally when in public and representing our district.

Denise tried to score points on Greg by claiming she had known about the budget for months before that last meeting. Then she went and admitted she couldn’t comprehend any of the budget anyway. I thought that was a major gaffe on her part.

I happen to know Greg and can assure you he is not “shady” if that makes you feel better. I don’t think any of the candidates are shady. I just think one is in the pocket of current administration and the others aren’t.

And you appear to not have understood what we meant by “culture” in the forum. What we were talking about was the social atmosphere and social climate in the district; we were talking about the work environment for staff and teachers. Many current and former staff have told me they feel or have felt bullied and intimidated at times at work. Others tell stories of having been severely under-supported. That is the work environment or culture that we want to see changed.

Look, we can’t control who buys homes in our district boundaries. We certainly can’t control their ethnicity or religion. If change in the racial or religious makeup of our community is the type of change you are seeking you are out of luck.

I liked the part where Denise corrected Greg & Geoff about the budget issue. But the more I heard Denise talk, it was like listening to her doing this big cover up for the district top administrators. I have to agree with the other fellow blogger. I can not believe she would comment on that she never had any knowledge that there were some teachers who would like to talk to the school board about some issues. Come on Denise I myself have attended some board meetings and have read articles in the newspaper about teachers commenting on several issues. Not only from teachers but from our school nurses!

Greg needs to do his research on Special Ed students and classrooms. What he was discussing was totally wrong information! What’s the main reason Greg wants to come back to become a board member. I don’t know or ever heard of Greg before this forum, besides seeing some signs with his name on them. But the feeling I get from this candadate is he is shady. Like you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

All of the candadates were talking about culture, they want to see more culture in the district. Since we moved out here to Higley district, I have never seen any type of culture. Where your hispanics, blacks, and chinese? Wheres your diversity? I am so ashmed to say I am from Gilbert at times because this is such a mormon white community. Even my children have seen this effect. The first question that my children were asked are you white or hispanic? Are you mormon or catholic? And my children are High school age… I was so shocked when they came home their first day of school here in Higley district.

So I do believe in CHANGE! We need CHANGE in this community and district.

I am a hispanic parent with a 2 Masters one in Business Administration & the other in Criminal Justice. Retired last year from the military after serving 20 yrs. While in the military I worked closely with Troops to Teachers. I’m sad to say at this time I would not recommend for any ex-military going through the Troops to Teachers to even apply for this district or even anyone to move into this district.

A perfect example is that I have called the school district on MANY occasions lately. I have a child in the preschool program. I have to get transfered to several departments and nobody seems to know who exactly it is that can answer the questions. The teachers say one person, the school secretaries give another name and the district office directs me to another, which goes to voicemail. NOONE seems to know who is in charge. How am I to feel safe if they cant even do that much correctly? I can count on one thing, they know how to reach me when tuition is past due. In fact even that was a joke. I had to receive 2 separate letters telling me who to call or where to go to pay, but the wise person that wrote the letter neglected to tell me how much to pay. Then I find out the person that is listed on the letter is not even the person that wrote it.

Let’s start holding people accountable! Let’s make a change and have our voices heard! Vote smart. Vote for a change!

Geoff- wants accountability at the top. He wants better choices made for our kids, and wants to see our top leaders working for the 6 figure salaries we pay them. He also rallies for improving morale at our sites! He welcomes comments and ideas from our teachers and staff, and he will use our insight to guide his vote for board issues.

Greg- like Geoff, he wants accountability from our district leaders (especially when it comes to they way we spend money). He wants better decisions made for our kids and for our district in general! He too welcomes our imput.

Taunya- plans to jump in head first, visiting our schools, and speaking with our staff (without admin present). She plans to be fully informed before voting on board issues and approving the spending of distict money.

Paul- wants our district to be known for it’s positives instead of it’s negatives. He wants to improve communication with our community to ensure that decisions being made are actually helping our kids.

Denise- will continue doing what shes doing now. She thinks that HUSD spends the budget money wisely. She advocates teacher professional development. She hasn’t heard that morale at our sites is low, and has never had a teacher express concern to her. She thinks that we currently have exceptional district leadership.

Good luck! We anxiously await the voting results.