Liberty Unified School District Outsources Superintendent Oversight to Staffing Agency

Liberty Unified School District Outsources Superintendent Oversight to Staffing Agency

By Corinne Murdock |

Last month, Liberty Unified School District (LUSD) outsourced its superintendency oversight to a staffing agency through a “retire/rehire” arrangement. In a divided 3-2 vote, the LUSD governing board allowed their superintendent, Lori Shough, to retire and then be rehired to the district through the staffing agency, Education Services Incorporated (ESI). ESI provides a workaround to state law, enabling Shough to draw from the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) while still working for the district full time. 

The LUSD board held discussions on the ESI arrangement in an executive session last month, out of public view, for about two hours. Shough has worked in the Arizona school system for 24 years. 

The arrangement is part of ESI’s “RetireRehire” program. The agency claimed that program members make more money in their profession without impacting the state’s retirement benefits. Shough won’t have to pay any fees for administering — but LUSD will. 

“For many people, it’s like getting a raise,” stated ESI. 

Under IRS guidelines, state law requires anyone who retires from ASRS but continues to work for their ASRS-providing employer to either limit their work to 20 hours for 20 weeks or less per year, or stay out of ASRS work for 12 consecutive months. 

In an informational video about RetireRehire, ESI asserted that it began because of the ASRS rules, or separation of service requirement.

LUSD board members Michael Todd and Bryan Parks objected to the arrangement, arguing that it allowed Shough to “double dip” her retirement. In a press release, the pair argued that neither Arizona law or district policy allow school boards to outsource its authority to staffing agencies. 

Parks expressed concern that Shough signed the ESI staffing agreement as both a worker and client, which he insisted removed the governing board’s control over the employment, direction, supervision, evaluation, compensation, discipline, and discharge of the superintendency. 

“The whole scheme needs to be reviewed by the county attorney or the attorney general’s office,” said Parks. “Why should board members put in this effort and spend countless hours of time just to have schemes like this subject us all to personal liability? Who is going to be willing to volunteer as a board member when school districts do such things?”

As of last October, ESI reported working with over 1,500 retirees across 140 school districts, colleges, and government institutions in Arizona through its RetireRehire program. 

The board, in another divided 3-2 vote, also approved confidentiality agreements for all ESI employees placed at LUSD. The board also agreed to a 75 percent performance pay compensation for Shough. 

LUSD was also the first school district to have a transgender woman on its governing board. That member, a man named Paul Bixler who believes he is a transgender woman, argued against parents’ rights to their children’s information during House Education Committee discussions in the most recent legislative session. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Activists Fail to Gather Enough Signatures to Put Right to Abortion on Ballot

Activists Fail to Gather Enough Signatures to Put Right to Abortion on Ballot

By Corinne Murdock |

The Tucson-based Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom canceled their Thursday filing appointment with the secretary of state’s office to put a constitutional right to abortion on November’s ballot after collecting less than half of the signatures required. That might explain why the abortion rights group never responded to our June 20 press inquiry on their signature-gathering progress.

In a tweeted statement, Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom insisted that they hadn’t failed. They also compared their effort to a Michigan campaign that qualified for the November ballot this week. The group touted that its signature-gathering pace far exceeded that of the Michigan campaign, which began two years ago.

However, the Michigan ballot measure in question doesn’t concern abortion at all — it concerns term limit requirements for state legislators and financial disclosure requirements for state executive and legislative officials. 

The group pledged that they would be continuing their efforts to ensure a 2024 ballot measure. 

The abortion rights group first launched their effort in late May. They reported collecting over 175,000 signatures — about 49 percent of the over 356,400 signatures they needed. 

The proposed constitutional amendment is reproduced below:

Every individual has a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which entails the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.

Neither the state nor any political subdivision shall restrict, penalize, frustrate, or otherwise interfere with the exercise of the right to reproductive freedom, including: any individual’s access to contraception; pre-viability medical and surgical termination of pregnancy; or medical and surgical termination of pregnancy when necessary to preserve the individual’s health or life.

Neither the state nor any political subdivision shall restrict, penalize, frustrate, or otherwise interfere with a qualified, licensed healthcare professional providing medical services or any person providing non-medical services necessary for the exercise of the right to reproductive freedom.

The term ‘viability’ means the point in a pregnancy at which, in the good-faith medical judgment of the qualified, licensed healthcare professional, based on the particular facts of the case before the healthcare professional, there is a reasonable likelihood of sustained fetal survival outside the uterus with or without artificial support.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Phoenix Approves Paid Parental Leave With Estimated $2 to 8 Million Cost

Phoenix Approves Paid Parental Leave With Estimated $2 to 8 Million Cost

By Corinne Murdock |

At the start of this month, Phoenix City Council unanimously approved up to 480 hours of paid parental leave, the equivalent of 12 weeks and costing an estimated $2 to $8 million annually. The benefit kicks in for births, adoptions, and foster care placements during 12-month periods. 

The new benefit requires that employees meet Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) eligibility requirements: be employed by the city for at least 12 months and have performed at least 1,250 hours of work during the 12 month period preceding the leave. The city’s leave would run concurrently with FMLA leave, unless the FMLA entitlement was exhausted when caring for an immediate family member with a serious health condition or being unable to work due to a serious health condition. 

The added benefit, which the city boasted was “among the most generous parental leave packages offered by any local government agency,” will kick in on October 1. 

Mayor Kate Gallego expressed her enthusiasm for the new policy. She recalled her efforts years ago to implement a similar policy when lobbying for equal pay for women. 

“It has taken quite a long time to figure out how to pay for this generous benefit financially,” said Gallego. “May this lead to healthier, happier babies.”

Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari equated caring for live children with abortion. She said that this policy reflected on the importance of family planning in light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that abortion law should be left up to the states — the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“I think it’s especially fitting that we have this policy now, given that reproductive rights are under attack as well. We need to be doing everything in our power to protect Phoenicians’ ability to continue to make their own family planning decisions,” said Ansari.

Councilman Sal DiCiccio rebutted Ansari’s view of the policy’s impact, noting that this was support for the decision to choose life — not just an affirmation of one type of family planning that included abortion.

“For those of us on the pro-life side, we really need to start evaluating how and what type of programs we’re going to be supporting going forward,” said DiCiccio. “If we’re going to be seeing more adoptions, more foster care, then we’ve got to be stepping it up ourselves, too.”

Councilman Carlos Garcia expressed hope that this policy would just be the beginning of family care benefits. He mentioned childcare and housing benefits.

Councilwoman Ann O’Brien recounted how, 27 years ago, her husband first received two weeks of parental leave but she received none from her employer at the time. O’Brien added that paid leave would help mitigate the city’s employee shortage by offering a competitive benefit.

Councilwoman Betty Guardado said that 12 weeks was necessary for parental bonding time.

“Spending time with your child without losing your income should be a right for all working people in this country,” said Guardado. 

Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data reported that 26 percent of state and local government workers across the country had access to paid parental leave. In 2008, that number was 15 percent; it reached 17 and then dropped to 16 percent by 2012. It wasn’t until 2017 that the percentage increased by nearly 10 points to 25 percent. The last period of growth occurred in 2020 to the present total, 26 percent. 

BLS data reports that 23 percent of private and civilian industry workers had access to paid family leave in 2021. 

Watch the Phoenix City Council discussion and vote on paid family leave below:

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Tucson Starbucks Latest to Unionize in Arizona

Tucson Starbucks Latest to Unionize in Arizona

By Corinne Murdock |

The first Starbucks in Tucson unionized on Thursday in a 11-3 vote, the first in Pima County and the fifth in the state. 

In an April letter announcing unionization intent with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), 10 of the Tucson Starbucks workers said that unions were the only option for an ideal work environment. The words “partner” and “partnership” were brought up frequently. 

“We do not see unions as an assault on Starbucks. Rather, we see unions as a symbol of both our love for the company and as an opportunity for partners to prosper alongside Starbucks moving forward,” wrote the workers. 

The University of Arizona (UArizona) neighbor succeeded where two other stores’ unionization efforts failed earlier this year: one in Chandler, Arizona by a 1-9 vote taken last month, and another in Phoenix by a narrow 6-8 vote in May (though seven ballots were challenged and the official outcome is to be determined). 

The following Arizona stores are unionized: in Mesa, the Power & Baseline Road and Crimson & Southern locations; and in Phoenix, the 7th Street & Bell location. The 7th & Roosevelt location in Phoenix filed to unionize and will take a vote next Friday. 

Nationwide, 310 stores in 35 states filed to unionize. 186 of those stores won union elections. The nationwide unionization efforts have succeeded rapidly since the first Starbucks union formed last December in New York. 

SWBU insists that coffee shop employees are overworked and underpaid, and often face issues like understaffing. Arizona Starbucks’ minimum wage sits around $14 an hour. Nationwide, that average sits around $17 an hour. 

“We know what it’s like to be understaffed and overworked, on our feet for hours at a time, memorizing long menus, presenting a sunny demeanor to customers — even when they’re entitled, or impatient, or rude, or creepy,” reads the SWBU FAQ page. “We will have the right to negotiate a union contract and have a real voice in setting organization policies, rights on the job, health and safety conditions, protections from unfair firings or unfair discipline, seniority rights, leaves of absence rights, benefits, wages, etc.”

Starbucks unionization means that workers can’t be disciplined or terminated “at will,” and instead will be shielded by union contracts, or collective bargaining agreements. The employees do have to pay dues, which range depending on the region. In Buffalo, New York, where the first union launched, dues for full time workers are nearly $11 a week, or $5 a week for those who work under 25 hours. 

The Tucson store’s unionization efforts weren’t without pushback. Employees claimed that they received a new district manager and had their hours reduced after announcing their intent to unionize. 

Among the local officials who applauded the unionization was Tucson Mayor Regina Romero. The mayor said that the effort was a win for “justice, equality, and a better life.” 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.