Magdalena Barajas has issued a letter of resignation from the Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board. In her resignation letter, Ms. Barajas’ advised Pima County School Superintendent Arzoumanian that she was resigning to attend graduate school. Ms. Barajas’ resignation is effective June 30, 2012.
Arzoumanian has opted to leave the replacement’s selection up to the voters. Barajas’ position as a governing board member is one of three in Sunnyside that is up for election at the November 6, 2012 General Election.
Across the state, the selection process used by Arzoumanian and other County Superintendents has been questioned for the lack of public input and transparency. When asked about the failures of the process and lack of public input, the Maricopa County Superintendent responded with a question, “Why does the public need to be involved.”
This past year, unions and the Arizona School Board Association fought legislation that would have changed the requirements for County Superintendents. Currently County Superintendents must be certified teachers.
Arzoumanian’s selection process has come under fire for being highly secretive and political. During the replacement process for deceased TUSD Governing Board member Judy Burns, Arzoumanian refused to consider five semi-finalists proposed by a her own selection committee, and advised them to go back through the applicants for the position and find someone she could support.
She preferred applicants who were backed by the TUSD Superintendent Pedicone. The selection committee returned to the applications to find someone she could eventually select.
Arzoumanian was accused of picking the Sunnyside Unified School District’s administration’s choice in the last selection go round, ignoring more qualified candidates. The district’s administration and board members are under investigation for using children for political purposes. A claim was made that students were forced to campaign for the district bond measure.
It is expected that Arzoumanian will face a challenger in the general election, and possibly in the Republican primary.
For those interested in running for a school district governing position in Sunnyside, packets are now available through the office of the Pima County School Superintendent.
The following qualifications must be met in order to run in the Sunnyside School District:
•Must be a 18 years or older
•A U.S. citizen, an Arizona resident and registered to vote
•Must be a resident of Sunnyside for 1 year immediately preceding the day of election
•No district employee or spouse of a district employee may be a member of the governing board
•Immediate family members who have shared the same household within 4 years prior are ineligible to be simultaneous candidates for nomination for the same school district if the school district governing board has five members.
The filing period begins July 9, 2012 and ends August 8, 2012 at 5:00PM.
Interested individuals may pick up an election packet at the Office of the Pima County School Superintendent located at 130 W. Congress, 4th Floor.