🔐 Security Versus Support: TUSD's Choices Amid Funding Issues
🔍 Desegregation Promises Unkept: The TUSD Dilemma
Based on the 11/21/24 Buckmaster Show on KVOI-1030AM.
🙊 Notable quotes from the show
"TUSD ignored the desegregation order to have the [Mexican American Studies] program, and now they have raided the desegregation monies for other projects" - Anonymous TUSD source
Context: This quote highlights TUSD's failure to uphold the desegregation order, as the district dismantled the successful Mexican American Studies program and diverted desegregation funds away from supporting marginalized students.
"We're officially a B-rated district" - Dr. Gabriel Trujillo, TUSD Superintendent
Context: Trujillo boasted about TUSD's academic progress, with more A—and B-rated schools than C-rated ones. However, this glossed over the district's persistent issues with equity and discrimination.
"The talent of our teacher workforce and the amazing administrators and school principals that create the conditions for their success" - Dr. Gabriel Trujillo
Context: Trujillo attributed TUSD's academic gains to the hard work of the district's educators while failing to acknowledge the district's role in undermining initiatives that support marginalized students.
"Catalina has become an 'excelling academic environment,' which [Trujillo] attributed to 'the talent of the educators at that school'" - Dr. Gabriel Trujillo
Context: Trujillo praised the success of Catalina High School, which has a high-needs student population, as a testament to the skill of its educators. This highlights the potential of culturally relevant education that TUSD has abandoned.
"These turn out to contain a lot of these flame retardants." - Dr. Victoria Maizes
Context: Maizes revealed that many common black plastic items used in TUSD schools, like spatulas, contain toxic flame retardants, putting students and staff at risk.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
TUSD, the Tucson school district, says their schools are getting better grades 📈. But they aren't doing a good job helping all students 🤷♂️, especially Latino 🇲🇽 and other kids who need extra help 🆘. They took money 💰 away from programs that made things fairer ⚖️ but have plenty of money to spend on security 🚔. One school, Catalina 🏫, is doing really well 🌟, but TUSD needs to do a lot more to help every student feel safe and supported! 🤗💪
🗝️ Takeaways
🔎 TUSD claims progress with more B-rated schools but ignores ongoing issues of equity and discrimination.
🚨 A $5 million deficit in the desegregation fund raises alarms about resource allocation.
🌍 Toxic flame retardants found in common school materials, posing health risks to students.
🎓 Success stories like Catalina High School demonstrate potential when culturally relevant education is prioritized.
⏬ Jump to the 🦉 Three Sonorans Commentary based on:
📻 What They Discussed
📚 The Buckmaster Show Midweek Edition (11/20/24)
On this midweek edition aired on 11/20/24, Buckmaster welcomed two notable guests:
Dr. Victoria Maizes, the founding executive director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, and
Dr. Gabriel Trujillo, the superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD).
🩺 Concerns About Toxic Plastic Household Items
Dr. Maizes discussed concerning findings that many common black plastic household items, such as spatulas and children's toys, contain toxic flame retardants because they are made from recycled electronic materials.
As Buckmaster noted, "Every kitchen that you could go to, any kitchen probably in America, and everybody's got a black spatula, right?" Maizes explained that "these turn out to contain a lot of these flame retardants," which have been linked to health issues like hormone disruption and cancer.
She recommended replacing these items with safer alternatives, stating, "I tossed them all in the garbage….[Did you really?]… I did because you could say, well, I've been using it all this time, but that doesn't mean we can't do better by getting rid of it now."
💊 Underutilization of Hormone Therapy for Menopause
According to Dr. Maizes, the use of hormone therapy for managing menopausal symptoms has remained at historic lows despite its effectiveness and safety profile. She attributed this to lingering concerns stemming from a flawed study, as well as a lack of doctor training in properly prescribing hormone therapy.
Dr. Maizes emphasized that "if you have significant menopausal symptoms that aren't going away with the simple things one might do, hormone therapy could dramatically help and that you should find a doctor who knows how to prescribe them."
Maizes explained that an improved understanding of the timing and delivery methods for hormone therapy has shown it can actually lower the risk of heart disease when prescribed properly at the onset of menopause.
🌳 Plastic Pollution in the Environment
Maizes also discussed plastic pollution, particularly the prevalence of micro and nanoplastics in bottled water.
She advised that filtering tap water is a better option than relying on plastic bottles, warning that "the plastic can leach harmful chemicals, especially when exposed to heat, such as in a car."
Maizes cited a study that found "up to 240,000 bits of micro and nano plastics in a liter-sized bottle" of water, emphasizing the need to move away from single-use plastics.
🏫 TUSD's Academic Achievements and Challenges
Dr. Trujillo shared the positive news that TUSD has seen a significant improvement in its school performance, stating, "We're officially a B-rated district."
He attributed this success to the hard work of TUSD's teachers and administrators, saying, "The talent of our teacher workforce and the amazing administrators and school principals that create the conditions for their success" are directly responsible for the district's progress.
However, the district still faces challenges, such as a deficit in the desegregation fund, which Trujillo said will be a "major project" to address in the coming semester. He also discussed the need to reimagine transportation options to address declining enrollment, noting that "families that have left the district...have noted that transportation is a major barrier."
🔒 Enhancing School Security
One of TUSD's major initiatives is implementing a new wireless security and crisis notification system called Syntegix.
Trujillo explained that this system will provide all 7,900 TUSD employees with a badge that can instantly alert administrators and school safety officers in the event of an emergency, greatly improving the district's ability to respond quickly and effectively.
He said the system uses "GPS technology so the administrators and the school safety officers will see the exact location where the emergency button has been pressed, and they'll be able to collapse onto the location."
Trujillo expressed excitement about this new system: "We're very excited. We think this will make us significantly safer on a school-by-school basis."
🏢 TUSD's Office Relocation
Trujillo also discussed TUSD's plan to move its offices from the current "1010" location to a new building at 220 West 6th Street, the old TEP headquarters, near the district's high-performing Davis Magnet School.
He said this move, planned for late April/early May, will be a "major project" for the district but that they are "looking forward to being next door to Davis," one of TUSD's top schools.
The 1010 Building is for sale.
🤝 Desegregation Efforts
Trujillo highlighted that one of the district's major projects in the coming semester will address a nearly $5 million deficit in TUSD's desegregation fund.
He said the goal is to bring the desegregation budget to a flat level for the 2025-2026 school year, which will require "collaboration with the community and all of TUSD's schools."
🏫 Catalina High School's Success
Trujillo spoke proudly about the academic turnaround at Catalina High School, which he described as having a very high-needs student body - "one out of every four students is either an English language learner, a new refugee to our country learning the language, or a student with disabilities."
Despite this, Trujillo said, Catalina has become an "excelling academic environment," which he attributed to "the talent of the educators at that school."
The Catalina High School principal used to be Rex Scott, the current county supervisor for District 1. The new principal, Dr. Norma Gonzalez, who oversaw Catalina's transformation, was a teacher in the Mexican American Studies program. State Superintendent Tom Horne killed the very successful MAS program, which was kept dead by the current TUSD superintendent and school board.
Trujillo noted that all of TUSD's high schools are now rated A or B, with Catalina being a prime example of the district's overall academic progress.
🦉 Three Sonorans Commentary
🔥 Exposing TUSD's Hollow Victory: A Legacy of Discrimination, Militarization, and Broken Promises
As the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) trumpets its recent academic gains, the truth lies buried beneath a carefully curated facade of progress - a legacy of systemic racism, environmental injustice, and the relentless marginalization of the district's most vulnerable students.
TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo may boast that the district is now officially "a B-rated district," with more A and B-rated schools than C-rated ones. But this narrative conveniently sidesteps the district's sordid history of discrimination and its continued failure to address the root causes of educational inequity.
At the heart of this simmering crisis is TUSD's handling of the landmark desegregation case, a battle that has raged for decades. Rather than embracing the spirit of the court order and actively working to dismantle the vestiges of segregation, the district has repeatedly fallen short. Now, it faces a staggering $5 million deficit in its desegregation fund—resources meant to ensure equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their background.
"TUSD ignored the desegregation order to have the [Mexican American Studies] program, and now they have raided the desegregation monies for other projects," lamented a source within the district. This cutting observation cuts to the core of TUSD's betrayal of its most marginalized communities.
The Mexican American Studies (MAS) program, once hailed as a national model for its success in engaging students and closing the achievement gap, was infamously dismantled by former State Superintendent Tom Horne. This decision, upheld by TUSD's current administration and school board, was devastating to the district's most vulnerable students.
Yet, the resilience and talent of educators like Dr. Norma Gonzalez, the principal of Catalina High School, have shone through the darkness. Under Gonzalez's leadership, Catalina has become an "excelling academic environment" despite serving a high-needs student population.
As a former teacher in the MAS program, Gonzalez knows firsthand the transformative power of a culturally relevant curriculum.
Disturbingly, while TUSD claims to be strapped for resources to support its most marginalized students, the district has always seemed to find the funds for increased security measures. Implementing the new Syntegix security system, which will equip all 7,900 TUSD employees with GPS-enabled badges to alert authorities in an emergency, suggests a troubling prioritization of "safety" over the well-being of students.
Beneath the veneer of academic progress and shiny new security upgrades, TUSD's true colors begin to bleed through. A district that once championed the power of culturally responsive education now seems to have abandoned its marginalized communities while simultaneously exposing them to the heavy-handed presence of the Tucson Police Department's school resource officers (SROs).
As the Three Sonorans, we refuse to be silenced by TUSD's hollow victories. We will continue to shine a light on the district's troubling legacy, demanding that it live up to its promises of equity and justice for all students. The fight for a truly inclusive and sustainable education system in Tucson is far from over.
👯 People Mentioned
Dr. Victoria Maizes - Founding Executive Director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona
Quote: "These turn out to contain a lot of these flame retardants."
Context: Maizes discussed the concerning presence of toxic chemicals in common plastic items used in schools.
Dr. Gabriel Trujillo - Superintendent of Tucson Unified School District (TUSD)
Quote: "We're officially a B-rated district."
Quote: "The talent of our teacher workforce and the amazing administrators and school principals that create the conditions for their success."
Context: Trujillo touted TUSD's academic progress but failed to acknowledge deeper issues of equity and discrimination.
Dr. Norma Gonzalez - Principal of Catalina High School
Context: Gonzalez, a former teacher in TUSD's Mexican American Studies program, has overseen Catalina High's transformation into an "excelling academic environment" despite serving a high-needs student population.
Tom Horne - Former Arizona State Superintendent
Context: Horne infamously dismantled TUSD's Mexican American Studies program, a decision that had a devastating impact on marginalized students.