The Tucson Unified School District Governing Board voted to hire H.T. Sanchez to be superintendent of Tucson’s largest school district. Dr. Sanchez is currently interim superintendent of a district in Odessa, Texas.
Board member Michael Hicks made the motion to hire Sanchez, and Kristel Foster seconded the motion for a 4 -1 vote, with Mark Stegeman the lone no vote.
Governing Board president Adelita Grijalva called Sanchez, “charismatic, really thoughtful, very intelligent.” Grijalva said, “I think that he’s going to be able to speak to a percentage of our community that has felt really neglected and that’s our Spanish speaking community. He’s also bilingual and I think that is important.”
Hicks said, “Dr. Sanchez will move this district forward. I believe that he will serve the best interest of our students, parents, staff, and taxpayers. I have confidence that Dr. Sanchez will build on the progress made by Dr. Pedicone and together we will work for our students to achieve academic excellence.”
Hicks had expressed concerns about the process and said he wished the Board had moved more candidates forward for the public to meet, but was impressed with Sanchez. Hicks cited Sanchez’s work as an adjunct professor teaching graduate-level education administration courses at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Stegeman expressed concerns regarding Sanchez’s age, but said that he believed that Sanchez was “forward driven.” Stegeman said he would support Sanchez in his new job.
Sanchez won diverse community support. Both former Governing Board member candidates, Betts Putnam Hidalgo and John Hunnicutt said they were displeased with the hiring process employed by the District, but Putnam Hidalgo said she believed Sanchez could, “bring the community together,” and Hunnicutt said he was “excited about the energy a young man will bring to the District.”
While Sanchez has limited experience in the top spot; only having served as interim superintendent at Ector County ISD since March, he does have experience working with districts under desegregation orders. At last week’s public forum, Sanchez said he hoped to have an “honest conversation” about resolving desegregation issues, “rather than paperwork or facades or hollow programs.”
The plaintiffs in the desegregation case have fought for years to close the achievement gap by putting in place measures that would put highly qualified teachers in classrooms across the District, while they say the “District has fought for gimmicks that amount to nothing more than a job program for political cronies.”
Sanchez says he is committed to getting rid of programs that do not result in academic success. Sanchez said he agreed with plaintiffs who have fought for internal auditors to monitor the District’s performance and ensure program efficacy.