The Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board has been a bit…messy recently. You can get completely up to speed here. There has been a clear schism between two factions within the board, and recent developments have made that schism even more obvious and contentious. The conservative members of the board Carine Werner and Amy Carney are now saying that they … Read More
The Dynamics of the SUSD Board Start to Form: How Is It Playing Out
The Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board has had a rather, shall we say…interesting job over the last few years (check out our coverage on it here). In the midst of those interesting times, the voters voted in two conservative board members in the last election, altering the dynamics of the board significantly. We are now gaining some insight as … Read More
While Politicians Debate Over Wokeness at SUSD, Students Show that There is Work Left to Do
The saga of Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent Scott Menzel, his past “woke” interview and the controversy it has generated has gotten a lot of coverage both in the mainstream media and on this blog. But a recent development at a Scottsdale school demonstrates that “woke-ism” clearly is not the norm in Scottsdale schools. Unfortunately, not even the Holocaust is … Read More
Superintendent Menzel Saved By Strong Support
It has been a tumultuous past month or so for Scottsdale Unified School District superintendent Scott Menzel. After Fox News uncovered a 2019 interview where Menzel seems to support ideas that many would consider “woke”, he has been the target of Republican legislators and a cause de celebre for local Democrats (you can get up to speed on the entire … Read More
The Battle Lines are Drawn: Scottsdale Legislative Reps and SUSD Superintendent Menzel Trade Blows
Note: this post has been edited to reflect that Tammy Caputi changed her voter registration to Independent in 2018, and that Jason Alexander is a social media advisor for her, not a political advisor. The fallout from Scottsdale Unified School District’s Superintendent Scott Menzel and his “woke” comments from a 2019 interview have recently stolen a lot of oxygen from … Read More
School Funding Deadline is Near: Are Our Legislators Playing Brinksmanship?
As many parents of school-age children know, Arizona schools have a major looming deadline coming up. Revenue to our schools has increased significantly, as has the population, but due to an old constitutional rule regarding increasing spending caps many school districts will need to drastically cut their budgets unless this antiquated cap is lifted. In Arizona, this issue could turn … Read More
Guest Editorial: Old Statements from Superintendent Scott Menzel are Released. Did He Fool Us All?
By Ronald Sampson Have you ever felt like someone you knew was living a lie? That you would talk them up but then you realized that you had made a mistake? I am now starting to feel that way about Scottsdale Unified School District superintendent Scott Menzel. This blog has covered Menzel quite a bit, and frankly, mostly in a … Read More
The Scottsdale Unified School District Board Election: What Should You Know?
As is the case every election, the bright and shiny objects of federal- or state-level races or other big ticket campaigns draw the mass media’s attention, but there are still always a number of very down ballot races that are critically important but often fly under the radar. In this case, the two open seats for the Scottsdale Unified School … Read More
Guest Editorial: Join me in supporting the SUSD Capital Override Election
By Nancy Cantor I have been involved with our schools for so long……as a student, as a parent, as a volunteer, as an advocate, as a proud neighbor and many will agree, a noodge. Always a noodge and my teachers encouraged me to be a noodge. And that is what I am going to do now. Bond and override elections … Read More
Arizona’s Attorney General is Suing SUSD: Sounds Like an Election Year
When elected officials seek re-election, or worse yet election to a more prominent position, it will cause them to do all sorts of wild things to get the attention of voters. Sometimes, they are truly detrimental, sometimes they are warranted…but we wonder aloud if this particular instance is both. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich recently filed a lawsuit against the … Read More