NEWS AND EVENTS

July 28, 2008

Original letter to the Editor (equipment losses) 7/29/08

Below is the original unedited version of a letter sent to the Arizona Daily Star about equipment losses, which the Star published in edited form on 7/29.
Your excellent article and editorial (7/20 and 7/22) about TUSD’s equipment losses omit an important point for understanding TUSD: uneven performance. The Star’s published data show that [...]

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July 8, 2008

Stegeman For TUSD announces Campaign Chair and Treasurer

Former TEA President, Michael Gordy recently ended an outstanding 28 year career in the classroom and began his retirement by joining the Stegeman For TUSD committee as its chairperson. “Mark’s experience as an educator, an economist, and as a member of the audit committee places him as the candidate of experience that will provide fresh [...]

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April 24, 2008

Original letter to the Editor (school closures) 4/30/08

Proceeding with the proposed school closures will probably hurt, not help, TUSD’s finances… In this situation, the financially responsible action is to stop the current process and to restart the closure discussion in a way that will ultimately persuade parents to keep their children in TUSD.

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A Message About Mark Stegeman

Our children deserve great schools. Great schools demand strong leadership. Mark Stegeman’s financial and educational experience will help him to provide that leadership. With your help, he will bring that experience and leadership to the TUSD Governing Board.

Mark Stegeman has attended most TUSD Board meetings since 2006, and he understands that the Board needs a change. It must cooperate and bring all of its stakeholders together; it must offer teachers respect instead of micro-management; it must exercise financial discipline. These changes require a strong Board. Mark can help to lead the Board, as an educator, an economist, and a reformer.

EDUCATOR

A university professor with many years of teaching experience, Mark understands that teachers are professionals who succeed in different ways, with different students. Instead of imposing rigid curriculum programs, the district’s critical task is to recruit and retain qualified, skilled, and motivated teachers. Then it should give teachers the support that they say they need. We must rigorously evaluate TUSD’s curriculum programs, discarding what is ineffective and building on what works.

ECONOMIST

According to its external management consultants, TUSD receives more money per student than any other school district in Arizona. Yet it ranks low on many performance measures and last among the ten largest Arizona school districts in the share of money spent in classrooms. Mark has done financial analysis in the corporate sector, has a Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T. and is currently a tenured professor at the Eller School of Management at the University of Arizona. From his service on TUSD’s Audit Committee, Mark also understands TUSD’s budget,. He knows where the money comes from and where it goes. At a time when inefficiency and deficits are critical issues for TUSD, the Board needs this kind of expertise.

REFORMER

Mark Stegeman understands that TUSD cannot continue down its current path. The district must tighten procurement and financial controls, streamline administration, listen to the suggestions of employees and others in the community, learn from other schools and districts, and promote a culture of excellence and professionalism. Mark can help the Board to institute these reforms. TUSD must admit its weaknesses and move aggressively to fix them, so that the district can build on its strengths.

As an educator and an economist committed to reform, Mark Stegeman is uniquely qualified to advance these changes. But we need you. Mark brings experience in business and the classroom, but he needs your help, your financial support, and your vote. If we all work together, then TUSD can become one of the top school districts in Arizona.