
Will Seberger/TucsonSentinel.com
Stegeman in 2012
Mark Stegeman, in his third term on the board of Tucson's largest school district, resigned effective immediately on Thursday, in an unexpected announcement.... Read more»
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4 comments on this story
Grijalva complains that I leave at 10 p.m., but for years we had a meeting-ending curfew at 10 p.m. The board eliminated the curfew this year, and so it now conducts business late at night, abusing the transparency that it owes the press and public and abusing the staff who are or feel obliged to attend the entire meeting. Why the board suddenly wants to meet late into the night, instead of simply scheduling more meetings, especially when it knows that I have a family commitment that binds after 10 p.m., has mystified me. The quality of decisions, not surprisingly, also seems to decline as midnight approaches.
It may be worth pointing out that on primary election night Foster and Grijalva walked out of a board meeting at about 8:30, in the middle of a budget study session.
You have done a lot of great things for TUSD, and I hope many realize that. I respect your decision to spend time with your young children. That is time you cannot get back. A parent educator I know and respect recently told me, “parents are their children’s most important teachers,” and I think another great educator we both know, Georgia Brousseau, would probably agree with that, although she probably would have liked to consult with you on your recent decision, or at the very least share her opinion. Parenting is our greatest charge and obligation, and their are no licenses or manuals ... only time, care and commitment… and shameless plug… excellent Stay & Play series at Arizona’s Children’s Association! Join us for Stay and Play now that you will have some time!!!
Is it considered some kind of “objectivity” to quote extensively people who have given Dr. Stegeman significant trouble on the board under the guise of announcing his retirement? Seems like a very strange editorial choice. Listening to the interview with Bill Buckmaster, it seemed that Stegeman had good reasons to leave and the timing was dictated by policy, not by personalities, which is consistent with how his decisions were made on the Board. Despite my many disagreements with his policy choices, that quality will be sorely missed.