A Message from the Board President
As an educator, I was pleased to see the spotlight fall on public education during the
last Presidential election. Unfortunately, the tragic events of September 11 have
necessarily diverted the attention of our nation's lawmakers to matters more urgent.
Therefore, I believe it is incumbent upon all of us involved in public education to
make certain that while the national spotlight has been diverted from our work, we do not
allow it to be diminished for even one student.
We must take on the responsibility of advocacy in every way possible. Please let your
legislators know how opposed you are to proposed budget cuts and other initiatives that
threaten the welfare of our students.
Additionally, we can express our support while effecting concrete results within TUSD
by channeling tax funds to our schools through the Arizona Tax Credit Program.
I encourage every member of our district community to give serious consideration to
participating in this program, which allows individual and head-of-household taxpayers to
receive a state tax credit of up to $200 (up to $250 for joint filers) by contributing
those funds to a specific school's extracurricular activities.
The tax credit in effect allows participants to control where their tax dollars go
for the benefit of our children and in no way affects expected individual tax refunds.
Volunteering is another important way that individuals can make a difference in our
schools. I would like to challenge each of us to reach out to those parents, neighbors and
other community members who have a vested interest in our students and invite them to
contribute their time and talents to our schools. This is part of what the Governing Board
had in mind when it mandated establishment of the Site Leadership Team model through Board
Policy 1115 for Shared Decision Making.
I continue to be encouraged by the ongoing relationships that our district is forging
with community volunteers as well as by our ongoing efforts to secure outside funding
sources (see articles on next page).
It is gratifying to know that we are ever attuned to finding ways to increase our
resources, which will become even more critical in the months ahead as we deal with the
overall downturn of our national and state economies.
While acknowledging the challenges we face, I believe that it is equally important to
celebrate the everyday contributions and achievements of our colleagues.
On that note, on behalf of the Governing Board I want to welcome TUSD's three new
administrators, pictured above. All three have proven their dedication to our mission and
value to our students as beloved teachers and counselors.
While they will be missed at their former sites, we all stand to gain a great deal from
the expertise and enthusiasm they bring to their new positions.
It is our hope that their example will inspire others to consider becoming site
administrators, who make all the difference for our schools.
Carolyn Kemmeries
Board Report
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