💔 Voices of Concern: THMS Staff Speak Out After Glock Incident Involving Asst. Principal
Alarming reports expose the troubling behavior of administrators at THMS, prompting concerns about student safety and staff wellbeing.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
At Tucson High Magnet School, some people are worried because the assistant principal printed out a scary note about a gun. He acted very angry when he got back to school, making everyone feel scared. They think the school leaders, who should help, are not doing their jobs right, causing a lot of problems for students and teachers. They want to tell the people in charge to fix it now!
🗝️ Takeaways
👮♂️ Gun Threats: A document referencing a gun was found at the school, triggering police involvement.
🚫 Hostile Environment: Assistant Principal Steven Rothkoft displayed aggressive behavior upon his return to work, creating fear among students and staff.
❌ Ineffective Leadership: Interim Principal Catherine Comstock is seen as ineffective and has failed to manage staff and student behavior.
⚖️ Double Standards: There is perceived hypocrisy in administration accountability compared to student discipline.
📉 Declining Enrollment: Leadership changes have led to a decrease in student enrollment and failure to meet magnet school standards.
Note: The following email was sent to the TUSD board and cc'd to Three Sonorans. Three Sonorans is not responsible for the content of the message, but it is now officially part of the public record and presented as such.
TUSD Governing Board Members:
The statement below is from a document discovered by Tucson High Magnet School (THMS) staff on November 20, 2025, in a printer in the administrative area at THMS. (It is typed exactly from the document.)
The document contains a statement about having a gun—a Glock. Catherine Comstock, THMS Interim Principal, was immediately alerted. Once the document was found, it was essential to determine who printed it to the printer—a student or employee.
Of course, due to the suspected and actual presence of weapons on school campuses, the matter was considered a security matter, and the Tucson Police Department (TPD) was called, and a police unit was dispatched.
“DON’T ASK QUESTIONS, DON’T SOLICIT,
THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S ALL ILLICIT.
DO NOT RING AND DO NOT KNOCK,
THAT’S BECAUSE WE SUPPORT THE 2ND AMENDMENT.
DON’T ASK QUESTIONS, DON’T SOLICIT,
THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S ALL ILLICIT.
DON’T RING THE BELL, DON’T KNOCK THE DOOR,
WE SUPPORT THE 2ND AMENDMENT TO ITS CORE!
DON’T ASK QUESTIONS, DON’T SOLICIT,
THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S ALL ILLICIT.
DO NOT RING AND DO NOT KNOCK,
THAT’S BECAUSE WE HAVE A GLOCK.”
After examining the printer’s usage log information, it was found that Assistant Principal Steven Rothkoft was the individual to whom the document belonged and who had printed it and left a copy in the printer.
Due to security protocols at THMS, once TPD is called, security staff is no longer involved in the matter and is taken over by police officers/personnel. For this reason, security staff refused to intervene, and many within the area where the situation occurred felt threatened and very vulnerable while TPD made its way to the campus.
As the event unfolded, Mr. Rothkoft was sent home for two days for what was perceived to be a disciplinary suspension. He returned to work on Monday, November 26, 2024.
Upon entering his work area, he exhibited excessive hostility/anger through his body language and actions toward students and clerical staff members (all women). Mr. Rothkoft is a tall-large male, and while screaming at students to get out of the area (an area where, up until 11/26/24, students had been allowed to “hang out” by him), his body language and voice level were perceived as threatening.
His arms were flying as he leaned in toward the direction of those to whom he was screaming. He stomped his feet loudly as he walked through the area. As he galumphed through the area, his screams continued in the direction of the clerical staff members.
Both students and the clerical staff felt threatened. Within minutes, Mr. Rothkoft created a hostile work and educational environment.
Some clerical staff left their worksite to go to central administration to report the threatening/hostile situation to Ms. Maricela Meza, Employee Relations Director. After reporting all the details to her, she agreed to conduct an investigation, which did NOT resolve the immediate threat of an out-of-control THMS administrator.
TUSD employees recognize that Ms. Meza is not a neutral employee relations administrator. Her reputation is marred by strong and inappropriate influences by the Superintendent and political figures. However, those who sought her assistance felt that she would immediately intervene and act to ensure that the hostile work and educational environment at THMS would immediately be corrected. She did nothing!
Shockingly, later in the day, it was discovered that Mr. Rothkoft’s two-day suspension had been “erased,” with his time worked record showing that he had worked during the suspension. The suspension was reversed and erased.
Mr. Rothkoft’s behavior was similar to that of a student caught violating the TUSD Code of Conduct. The student denies any wrongdoing but acts belligerently and threateningly, knowing he is guilty.
There is incredible hypocrisy in what has taken place in the situation involving Mr. Rothkoft. If a student or non-administrator had done anything similar, the student would have been arrested (paper arrest or actual) and suspended for asserting that “we have a Glock.”
Any other employee would have been reprimanded and suspended. Interim Principal Comstock uses Mr. Rothkoft as her heavy hand and would not as easily be able to continue her terrible treatment without him, so what he did was erased. The situation is intolerable, and fear abounds at THMS.
Most of us at Tucson High Magnet School have tolerated a progressively worsening situation under the administration of last year’s Principal, Elizabeth Rivera, and this year’s Interim Principal, Catherine Comstock.
Before the 2023-24 school year, Rivera was promoted from Pistor Middle School Principal—a school at least a third the size of THMS—where she had failed to improve academic performance and all of the related instructional problems that led to low performance.
Upon assuming the position of THMS Principal, she blatantly failed to recruit non-neighborhood students, which decreased THMS’s enrollment, failed its magnet plan, and decreased THMS’s revenue.
Other failures added to a record that resulted in Rivera being pushed out of her position by the Superintendent. Catherine Comstock was instructed to clean up Rivera’s failures, but she also seems to have marching orders to create a caustic work and instructional environment.
Comstock has been cutting desegregation funding from our magnet offerings, and many of us believe that an agenda exists to strip THMS of its magnet status.
The work and instructional environment at THMS is toxic, and it is time to alert the Governing Board and the public about what is occurring. Student behavior is NOT managed, exemplified by physical fights on campus (in the halls, on the grounds, etc.) every school day. Many of us believe there is a whispered plan to bring THMS down. We won’t have it!
TUSD Governing Board, please do something NOW! (We have asked an unknown, non-TUSD employee and non-Pima County resident to email this communication to the Governing Board and those in the community who pay attention because the person cannot be harmed by TUSD retaliation.)
Sincerely,
THMS EMPLOYEES WHO CARE TOO MUCH TO REMAIN SILENT
