On Tuesday, a “larger than normal number” of Horizon High School (HHS) staffers were absent following the sudden administrative leave of HHS Principal Linda Inhat amid controversy over her role in the assignment of a contested book laden with porn, lewd stories, and profanity. That book, “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” by Jon Ronson, was also available in the school’s library.
Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) spokeswoman Becky Kelbaugh confirmed with AZ Free News that a substantial number of staff were absent on Tuesday: 34 in all. PVUSD couldn’t respond to whether Ihnat or the two English teachers who originally assigned the book, Brian Morgan and Jay Parizek, were under investigation by the district or by police. It is unclear whether the head of the HHS English department, Rachel Prince, will be subject to any investigative inquiries; Prince defended her department’s work during a school board meeting earlier this month following initial complaints about the book. It’s a class 4 felony in Arizona law to provide harmful materials to minors.
“We are aware of a larger than normal number of absences for some staff, for a variety of reasons, and have covered those absences with qualified staff and substitute teachers. Some of these absences were planned in advance of this week. The total number of absences today was 34,” said Kelbaugh. “At this time, PVSchools is unable to release information on personnel-related matters. We can confirm that Horizon High School principal, Linda Ihnat, is on leave and the assistant principal, Ms. Shelley Strohfus, will be serving as an acting principal.”
AZ Free News submitted a follow-up inquiry to discern the total number of teachers that didn’t plan their absences in advance, or offered a reason for absence related to the book incident. PVUSD didn’t respond by press time.
The mass absences came a day after PVUSD Superintendent Troy Bales emailed an announcement that Ihnat was on leave, as first reported by Arizona Daily Independent. The email didn’t offer a reason for Inhat’s sudden leave.
“In PVSchools, we value the importance of a stable and consistent learning environment and make all attempts to avoid disruptions during the school year. However, this email is meant to inform you of a change in leadership at the Horizon High School campus,” wrote Bales. “Today, we are announcing that Ms. Shelley Strohfus will begin serving as the acting principal at Horizon High School while Ms. Inhat is on leave. An acting principal assumes the day-to-day responsibilities of leading a school during the absence of a school principal.”
News of Ihnat’s leave came days after last week’s school board meeting, during which Bales apologized for the book’s assignment. He promised that the district would take short-term and long-term steps to rectify the issue that led to the book being assigned in the first place.
As AZ Free News reported last week, PVUSD made the contested book the primary summer reading assignment for 11th-grade advanced placement (AP) students, even though several years prior parents had complained about the same book and educators had promised it wouldn’t be assigned again.
Terri Jo Neff, an investigative reporter for AZ Free News and Arizona Daily Independent, explained Tuesday on James T. Harris’ radio show, The Conservative Circus, that this book assignment may present a legal issue with Arizona’s obscenity laws but it would be up to Scottsdale Police Department (SPD) to determine.
“What’s really interesting [about the law] is that it deals with furnishing harmful materials to a minor,” said Neff. “Think of this: if you were to take a 15-year-old student to an X-rated movie, [or] you took them to a live arts act and they were depicting the things that were in this particular book, that would be a felony.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Monday, Phoenix City Council Member Sal DiCiccio called for the city to put their COVID-19 vaccine mandate to a public vote. In his letter to City Manager Jeffrey Barton, who made the decision to implement the mandate, DiCiccio insisted that the mandate would only further strain their law enforcement staffing numbers.
“This decision will compromise vital citywide services to our residents, including public safety, which this Council has been aware of the alarming crime data and how the city is struggling to hire and retain personnel. A more thorough determination needs to be made on whether, under federal law, the City of Phoenix and it’s 13,000 employees are considered ‘federal contractors’ for the purposes of this mandate,” wrote DiCiccio. “A discussion and vote on this mandate needs to be held in public not behind closed doors. When this Council is mandating city employees to get vaccinated or else lose their job, pension, and years of service, the least this Council can do is be transparent with our employees.”
No more hide and seek for a Phoenix politicians. No more behind closed door meetings on major issues. Let's see which politicians sign off on this letter requiring a public vote on the mandatory vaccine.
The city of Phoenix announced its vaccine mandate last week, giving workers until January 18 to comply. Barton reasoned that the city needed to impose the mandate because a majority of their operations are sourced in federal contracts – a class of employees required to be vaccinated under the Biden Administration. They promised $75 for each employee who complied with the mandate by the deadline – a benefit initially introduced earlier this year as an incentive to get vaccinated, now apparently a thank-you for compliance.
First responder associations signaled their support for efforts to fight Phoenix’s mandate. The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) and The United Phoenix Firefighters Association (UPFA) joined as co-plaintiffs in Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors and employees.
“For us, this issue is not about the vaccine but a concern for the public safety staffing in Phoenix and our members’ right to make their own personal health choices,” stated UPFA. “Forcing first responders out of a job protects no one.”
For us, this issue is not about the vaccine but a concern for the public safety staffing in Phx and our members right to make their own personal health choices.
— United Phoenix Firefighters Association (@unitedphxffs) November 23, 2021
The PLEA Vice President Yvette Bro asserted that the city mandate would only worsen their staffing shortage.
“We can’t afford to lose one officer,” stated Bro.
Phoenix police join fight against federal mandate
Yvette Bro, vice president of the union representing Phoenix police officers said they are facing staffing shortages and the mandate will exacerbate that problem. “We can't afford to lose one officer," https://t.co/eMZ2ZQ8iiJ
City council candidate Sam Stone told AZ Free News that it was unconscionable for city leaders to unilaterally push for a mandate without input from those affected.
“This was a cowardly act by Phoenix politicians,” stated Stone. “They passed the buck because they know vaccine mandates are unpopular, and they want to gut our police force – but aren’t willing to take the blame for either of their poor decisions. Councilman DiCiccio is spot on to call for a public vote.”
Stone also insisted that city employees aren’t federal contractors, tweeting that the legal basis for the mandate was “bunk.” He warned AZ Free News that this mandate would grant the federal government more control over local government.
“Further, the city of Phoenix is not a federal contractor. Forget COVID for a minute, this sets a horrific precedent giving the federal government control over our cities and towns,” said Stone.
Democratic voters don’t approve of Senator Kyrsten Sinema as of late, according to a poll conducted earlier this month by OH Predictive Insights (OHPI). A total of 47 percent of Democratic voters reported an unfavorable view of Sinema. Only 42 percent of Democrats liked Sinema. The same poll found that 84 percent of Democrat voters hold a very favorable view of President Joe Biden, despite his low approval ratings nationwide hovering between the mid 30s and the low 40s.
Democratic voters responded to hypothetical alternatives with an overwhelming preference for Democrats other than Sinema. 72 percent indicated that they would prefer a Democrat other than Sinema, if given the choice. 47 percent said they would support either Congressman Ruben Gallego (R-AZ-07) or Greg Stanton (R-AZ-09) over Sinema, while only 24 and 25 percent said they would support Sinema, respectively. If Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman were to toss her hat in the ring, 42 percent of Democrats indicated that they’d prefer Hoffman while only 24 percent would prefer Sinema.
OHPI Chief of Research Mike Noble said that though Sinema isn’t up for re-election until 2024, these numbers still don’t bode.
“Sinema’s growing unpopularity with voters from within her own party could prove fatal in 2024 when she will have to ask for Democrats’ support for re-nomination,” said Noble. “While there is still time between now and then, Sinema has ground to make up with her constituents in the next three years.”
These poll numbers come after multiple incidents in which constituents tracked down and harassed Sinema for her work at the Capitol. Early last month, activists filmed Sinema as they followed her into an Arizona State University (ASU) bathroom to demand answers for her delay in voting for the reconciliation bill. Sinema had been teaching her regular class when the activists came to protest.
Sinema rebuked the activists for the disruption, asserting that it wasn’t a legitimate protest. ASU Police Department later recommended that four individuals involved be charged with misdemeanors.
Then at the end of the month, activists disrupted a wedding in Bisbee, Arizona where Sinema was in attendance. One of the protestors filmed the bride coming out of a building, where she thanked protestors for “ruining her wedding” – to which one protestor responded, “You know what? She’s ruining our lives.”
The individual who filmed the interaction also interacted with the bride.
“It’s just my wedding…” said the bride.
“I know,” responded the camerawoman.
“Well, I really wish I could enjoy my wedding without you ruining it,” said the bride.
“I know you do,” repeated the camerawoman.
Later, the mother of the bride appeared, crying, and pleaded with the protestors to move their protest “just for an hour.” The protestors demanded that the mother confront Sinema and “throw her out” out of the wedding.
In an interview with ABC 15 last week, Sinema said she appreciated feedback from constituents.
“I appreciate when folks are willing to tell me they agree with me or they disagree with me. If they want to protest, if they want to offer thanks, all of that is welcome—that’s how I hear feedback from folks in Arizona. And I’m grateful for that feedback,” said Sinema. “I’ll also say that I’ll get up every single day and do what I’ve always done, which is just put Arizona first, put my head down, not get distracted by the noise, and just deliver the results. So I guess my message to folks would be keep telling me what you think. I appreciate it.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Christmas cheer came a little early this year, in the form of 7-year-old Avery Bell – the elementary school girl hopes to raise enough money to buy Christmas toys for the 14,000 foster children of Arizona, and she needs your help. Avery and her family call their effort, “Fidgets for Fosters.”
Fidget toys are small, often colorful objects usually made from plastic or rubber. Apart from helping to pass the time, some studies indicate that fidget toys may alleviate stress and anxiety as well as help concentration. They may be purchased for as low as $1 – Avery’s goal is to raise at least $14,000. Greater awareness of fidget toys emerged with the rise in popularity of “fidget spinners” around 2017 – a metal or plastic toy with three arms that children can hold between two fingers and spin.
Avery told AZ Family that she’s confident these toys can bring joy to those in the foster care system, based on how they helped her this past summer.
“It would make them happy, and when they grow up, they can give them to another kid and to another kid and keep going, spreading joy all over the world,” said Avery.
Avery was inspired to buy gifts for Arizona’s foster care children after she broke her leg and was temporarily confined in a wheelchair over the summer. Avery’s father Andrew Schmid explained that’s when she discovered fidget toys, and how much joy they brought her.
“That made her think about foster kids; maybe they had challenging days, and maybe having fidget toys would help them get through their day and cope with some of their challenges,” shared Schmid.
According to Foster Focus Mag, the holidays are hard for many children in the system: they may not get to experience Christmas, may be missing their families, or they may be processing negative experiences from holidays past.
Readers can help Avery make Christmas come true by donating to her GoFundMe page here. As of press time, she was well over halfway to her goal.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Arizona State Representatives Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott Valley), a refugee from communist Vietnam, and House Majority Leader Ben Toma (R-Peoria), whose family emigrated from communist Romania, announced their intent to sponsor a bill establishing anti-communist civics education for K-12 students. The legislation would require social studies curriculum to include a contrast of this country’s founding principles with conflicting political ideologies. In order to accomplish this inclusion, the State Board of Education (SBE) would work with experts in civics and government structures.
Nguyen plans to introduce the bill in the upcoming legislative session. In a press release, Nguyen cited his loss and continued hardship due to communism as the inspiration behind the bill. The legislator fled from the Communist Party of Vietnam at 12 years old in April 1975 – a week before the Fall of Saigon. Ngyen reiterated the importance of knowing history in order to not repeat it.
“This is very personal to me, as someone who has survived a communist war,” said Nguyen. “I have lost very close family members to the evil ideology of communism. I know what it feels to lose a nation to communism and that’s why I do not want my fellow Arizonans to ever go through what I have. It is up to us to ensure that future generations have an honest understanding of what communism truly is and the horrors it has produced for mankind. Otherwise, it is likely to be repeated. The victims and survivors of communism deserve to have their voice heard.”
Toma emigrated to America when he was nine years old in the 1980s. In an interview with Scena9, a Romanian publication, Toma offered an anecdote about life under the regime of the communist dictator at the time, Nicolae Ceaușescu. Ceaușescu and his wife were executed by firing squad on Christmas Day in 1989, the culmination of the Romanian Revolution that ended the 42-year-old communist regime.
“Toma […] still remembers some of the absurdities that people would need to do for those in power. He claims that, before Ceaușescu visited their town, Șăulia, people painted the grass green and hung fake apples in the trees, even if it wasn’t summer yet, so Ceaușescu would feel satisfied by his country’s prosperity,” reported Scena9.
In the press release, Toma concurred with Nguyen’s insistence on the importance of a civics education informing students about the truth of communism.
“I believe in America and its cornerstone principles of liberty, freedom, and democracy,” said Toma. “I also believe that we have a solemn obligation to prepare today’s students to be tomorrow’s leaders. This legislation strengthens a student’s foundation in civic literacy and understanding of what makes our nation exceptional, and how it stands in stark contrast to dangerous ideologies, such as communism and totalitarianism, that would have our founding principles erased from history.”
The legislators’ announcement comes after months of Democratic colleagues insisting that current hot button ideologies like white nationalism posed a bigger threat than communism. During a floor session in June, Nguyen fired back at those same claims made by State Representative Daniel Hernandez (D-Tucson). Hernandez implied that subjects like white nationalism and the January 6 incident demanded greater attention in classrooms than communism.
“You know, I just recently heard somebody say that […] communism is not the enemy, but white nationalism [is]. So, let me tell you something about white nationalism. White nationalism didn’t drown 250,000 Vietnamese in the South China sea. The communists did,” stated Nguyen. “White nationalism did not execute 86,000 South Vietnamese at the Fall of Saigon. Communists did. White nationalism did not put me here. Communism did. So don’t take it lightly. Don’t mock me. Don’t mock what I go through in life. It’s rough. I lost most of my cousins, my family members due to communism. If we don’t stand up to teach communism to our children, we’ll lose this country. So sir, don’t mock me.”
The K-12 budget bill originally included a provision requiring schools to teach how political ideologies like communism conflicted with American principles of freedom and democracy. Courts voided that bill, HB 2898, for not abiding by the state’s single subject rule for legislation.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
