Foster Blames Student Flight On TUSD Board Acrimony, Not Poor Choices
At its last Board meeting, Tucson Unified School District Governing Board member Kristel Foster declared that students were fleeing the District due to the acrimony between Board members. Foster’s claim stunned listeners familiar with the Arizona Auditor General’s “Dollars in the Classroom” yearly reports.
In those reports, the Auditor General shows that TUSD has experienced declining enrolment since at least 2001. While administration costs have soared, enrollment has declined steadily since Board President Adelita Grijalva was elected in 2002. Rich Kronberg, a long-time educator and education activist reminds us, that currently administrative costs amount to about $.10 out of every dollar. Far higher than the average for the schools in TUSD’s category; Very Large Districts. Unlike the other districts in its size category, TUSD spends about 48% of its revenues in the classroom – the place students actually learn. Other very large districts manage to spend between 53 percent and 60 percent of their revenues in the classroom.”
Grijalva had a generally “friendly” board during her early years on the Board yet with the exception of 2005, every year the district lost students.
The collaborative nature of the Boards did not improve student performance, nor did it prevent flight. In fact, the exodus of students appears to have picked up speed around 2006.
In 2008, Dr. Mark Stegeman, who had witnessed the declining enrollment and preparation of students entering his freshman Economics classes at the University of Arizona, decided to run for the Board.