More Photos (1):

Related articles:

Star's candidate endorsements for Tuesday's vote UA sophomore tackles 2 incumbents for term on board

Education
Flowing Wells Schools
Spanish Teacher/High School Trades/Construction
ARS Service Express
Plumbers Education
Flowing Wells Schools
Maestrp de Espanol Trades/Construction
Webb Equipment Company
Laborers Trades/Construction
Pioneer Landscaping
Yard Person/Loader Operator Production and Manufacturing
Pioneer Landscaping
Crushing Crew Engineering
Senior Project Manager

Voters in the Tucson Unified School District will select two representatives for the governing board in the Nov. 7 election. We urge them to return incumbents Adelita Grijalva and Bruce Burke to office.

We wish this were a race for three board seats because challenger Miguel Cuevas, a 19-year-old Cholla High School graduate and University of Arizona student, offers a fresh inside-the-classroom perspective the district should encourage beyond the election.

But Grijalva and Burke have proven themselves to be more experienced advocates for student achievement in the Tucson area's largest school district. They've been a calming influence and effective at steering the board out of disagreements to compromise.

TUSD is facing challenges from charter schools that attract students away from district schools, a continuing achievement divide between student groups and schools that struggle with tight budgets. Burke and Grijalva have been part of the push to reduce class size in the district.

The TUSD Governing Board has a difficult task ahead. The personality-driven drama of past boards may have calmed, but the district continues to be challenged in many ways. New school rankings show progress is being made and the board can help with setting policies that make student success its top priority. Burke and Grijalva share that commitment and vision.

The district administration stumbled in how it distributed bonus money from the state to teachers and other employees. Whether or not the administration broke any rules, using the state bonus money to pay for raises that had already been promised to teachers violated the intent of a special pot of money to reward and help retain teachers. Burke and Grijalva say they welcome a state audit of the district's books. They also advocate an audit of TUSD's desegregation budget. We agree that both deserve close examination.

Burke and Grijalva say they've seen how the intransigence of a massive TUSD bureaucracy can keep the district from performing optimally. For example, board members still get massive budget documents mere days before they're asked to approve them.

"Any time you try to make changes, you're going to get pushback," Grijalva said.

We agree with Grijalva that the academic rigor of TUSD schools needs to be improved and that students at every high school need access to advanced math and science courses. Grijalva is a student-centered voice who understands how students need to see a connection between classes and the real world. She is sensitive to employee needs, but keeps her focus where it should be — on the students.

Burke candidly admits that the board hasn't yet achieved its goal of opening up the budgeting process and making clear to the public how and why taxpayer money is spent. Communication is vital in a district as large and diverse as TUSD and Burke enthusiastically advocates the need for clarity.

Burke's strengths are his ability to listen to arguments and discussion, get to the root of what matters most to the success of kids and forge compromises among board members. He's a rational voice for progress and isn't satisfied with doing something one way simply because that's how it's always been done.

We support Grijalva and Burke in their bid to continue as members of the TUSD Governing Board.