On Monday, Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas skipped the regularly scheduled meeting of the State Board of Education. This is the second meeting she has missed since she accused Board president Greg Miller of assaulting her.
Douglas is expected to roll out her education plan on October 1. According to Arizona Department of Education spokesman Charles Tack, she opted to skip the meeting to work on that plan.
Fellow Board members expressed their frustration that Douglas was not present, but those objections were seen as politically motivated. Reginald Ballantyne, vice president of the Arizona State Board of Education, who has remained silent about Miller’s aggressive behavior, called Douglas’ absence “wrong” and called the situation “ludicrous.”
At the same time, Douglas’ supporters have complained that Governor Doug Ducey’s failure to protect Douglas is ludicrous.
Douglas’ opponents on the Board are determined to protect Arizona’s version of Common Core. To that end, they have supported Miller and his apparent attempts to intimidate Douglas.