'MY VIEW' BY DON SORCHYCH | APRIL 20, 2011
•CCUSD’s excesses
•Nancy Pelosi Barto and Heather Carter
The deep malaise in Cave Creek Unified School District (CCUSD) is more and more obvious. We have discussed and will continue to follow the progress of the lawsuit filed by the Goldwater Institute challenging what we believe to be illegal use of bond funds.
Our sportswriter, Pete Mohr, has proven over the years he is a devoted fan of CCUSD sports. He reports way beyond the call of duty and drives to remote sports events at his own cost. Parents of student athletes adore him or so they tell me.
He, like most sports writers, is given a wide range of authority covering news and their own opinions. Although Pete seldom colors his stories with opinions, some things are just not right in his mind – and mine. In such a case, he elaborated on Cactus Shadows High School’s (CSHS) Principal Steve Beebe’s method of choosing a new football coach. The bottom line was the fallacy of allowing only one parent in the committee while all the others were insiders.
Beebe responded angrily, said he would not cooperate any longer with Pete, but worse apparently infected his staff with the same attitude.
Pete was and is right. The public, especially parents should be strongly involved in choosing the people who will be coaching and teaching students. CCUSD is insular and has resisted law enforcement attempting to be involved in drug enforcement at the schools. Perhaps Superintendent Debbi Burdick should reflect on what Sheriff Joe Arpaio has often said, which is they can go wherever there is crime in Maricopa County. And drugs are rampant in CCUSD.
We have received complaints about this from parents in CCUSD and Deer Valley Unified School District, which includes Anthem. Most of these complaints involved heroin use, which is the drug of choice in Mexico and among illegal aliens. This problem has been here for decades and has been swept under the rug by administration. As we continue our investigation we welcome parent input.
The school board is incensed, as is Burdick, about the Goldwater lawsuit. Such are the plans of mice and men. If they want to know who is to blame, they need to look in the mirror in the company of Nancy Pelosi Barto.
Now they are seeking scapegoats. School Board President David Schaeffer offered a proposal headed LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. Then he had another headline reading, “Proposal for 2012 ASBA (Arizona School Boards Association) Action.
“Seek and support legislation to direct Governing Boards to develop policy that has a process and sanctions for Governing Board Members who knowingly (after letter of direction from Gov. Bd. President) and continually violate their own policies. (Note – District employees can be terminated for violation of Governing Board policy). Sanctions could include the following: Letter of Direction from the Governing Board President, suspension from meetings for violations thereafter). After 3 suspensions, a censure would be issued from the County Superintendents Office, action as a regulatory body for this issue. All censures would be posted on the county website as a record of issuance.”
“Rationale:
“The proposed item gives governing boards the ability to develop a policy that can be enforced when dealing with any board member who chooses to ignore their duties or break policies of the board’s code of ethics. We have a duty to provide a safe, harassment free work environment for our employees, but school districts have no recourse when a board member is intimidating, threatening or harassing employees.”
I would ask Schaeffer the same question Louis Farrakhan asked Obama about Libya. Who do you think you are? His proposal reeks of cronyism and revenge. Of all people who should ask for the handle of a machete to bring people into what he deems the right place, he is the last.
After all, Schaeffer and his buddy Mark Warren are the districts legislative liaison who worked with easy mark Nancy Pelosi Barto to fashion a possibly illegal bill to enable CCUSD to use money they had no right to. What is right and moral to take a bond voted in the year 2000 and change the use to something unrecognizable by the voters? Tell me that is constitutional.
Schaeffer and Warren should resign in disgrace as should Nancy Pelosi Barto.
Then we have the mindless votes by Democrat in Republican clothes Heather Carter. She wants anyone in a school district to be victims of some armed nutcase. People have a right no matter where they are to have guns. Would Columbine have happened if the faculty were armed?
Gun-free zones attract armed criminals. Signs prohibiting guns are inviting robbery at best and death at worst.
It is possible Carter shouldn’t be in office at all. There is a question of her employment at the time she was running for office which should have disqualified her. Then, following the money trail, school unions larded up her campaign bank account allowing a blizzard of signs and flyers.
I would think LD 7 would be finding a way to get good patriotic Republicans in office. Look at the record. David Smith to the House of Representatives was a great choice. But the choice of Carter was believing what she said rather than what she really is. As Cave Creek citizen John Hoeppner told her, “In all honesty Heather – if this is how you truly feel – I believe you are in the wrong political party – this is how a liberal Democrat thinks.”
Amen!
Then of course there is Nancy Pelosi Barto voted into the Senate from LD 7. Another Democrat in Republican clothes who inexplicably got the chairmanship of health activities even though she is owned by health interests and unions.
So LD 7 scored one out of three, a losing proposition. They and we got two Democrats claiming to be Republican and one real conservative Republican.
