by Staff Reporter | Oct 8, 2024 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Governing Board approved a bonus of nearly $16,000 to its superintendent during an August board meeting, despite lower test scores. And during last week’s meeting, it approved another performance pay plan for the 2024-2025 school year.
Superintendent Scott Menzel will receive a bonus of over $15,700, despite not achieving any of the academic achievement goals for the 2023-2024 school year. Menzel has a base salary of $225,000, a $16,000 stipend, and opportunity for a 20 percent bonus (around $43,200).
That full 20 percent bonus hinged on accomplishing the 11 key performance indicators the board set for the 2023-2024 school year. Menzel accomplished five of the 11 goals, none of which were academic: increased attendance rate to 92.5 percent or better, increased percent of students participating in extracurricular and cocurricular activities by four percent; increased certified staff retention; established a baseline for work-based learning opportunities and hours completed using Major Clarity; and produced decision-making matrix and at least one proposal for action by June 30.
The academic-based performance pay goals that Menzel didn’t meet concerned increasing scores for third-grade English-Language Arts (ELA) students to 68 percent passing, eighth-grade math students to 53 percent passing, and ninth-grade science students to 41 percent passing. During the 2023-2024 school year, only 60 percent of third-grade ELA students passed, 46 percent of eighth-grade math students passed, and 34 percent of ninth-grade science students passed.
The governing board was divided over the new performance pay plan. Board President Libby Hart-Wells and members Zach Lindsay and Julie Cieniawski voted in favor, while members Amy Carney and Carine Werner abstained.
During the meeting, Carney questioned why there was no board discussion prior to Menzel’s proposed performance plan pay raise being included as an action item on last week’s agenda.
“Last [year] we had a lengthy discussion [and] came to a collaborative result, and then we had an action item later,” said Carney.
Hart-Wells didn’t deny that the procedure for proposing a superintendent pay raise plan had changed from last year, but said that Carney and other members were free to discuss the action item and propose changes.
“It has always been the case that the superintendent has drafted the goals based on the information provided by the board and the goals that were set related to the key performance indicators for the district, then that comes forward to the governing board for review,” said Menzel.
During that same meeting last week, the board’s budget presentation revealed that SUSD spending on classrooms and teachers would hit a historical low again for the 2024-2025 school year: 54 percent versus nearly 64 percent exactly 20 years ago per the auditor general. That is one percent away from the lowest fiscal year: 53 percent in 2017.
As the parent watchdog group Scottsdale Unites For Education Integrity said in a recent press release, “This 9.2 percent decrease means that, out of a $438 million budget, over $40 million has been redirected away from supporting students’ academic achievement.”
Correction: A previous version of this story said that Menzel’s bonus was approved last week. It was approved in August while the performance pay plan was approved last week. The story has been corrected.
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by Staff Reporter | Oct 6, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
It seems that Arizonans are keenly aware of their position as a major swing state for the upcoming election just one month away.
Arizonans ranked the third-highest in Google searches for voter registration following the vice presidential debate on Tuesday between Democratic running mate Governor Tim Walz and Republican running mate Senator JD Vance.
The discovery of these search ratings was made by Final Round AI, which analyzed Google Trends data for the impact the Walz-Vance debate had throughout the country.
The company’s CEO, Michael Guan, said in a press release that the vice presidential debate was less impactful on search spikes than the presidential debate last month.
“With the vice-presidential debate between Governor Walz and Senator Vance on Tuesday, we wanted to see how this affects interest in voter registration topics. We found the debate had caused the third-highest spike in searches so far, behind the spike on September 10 after the presidential debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump. The largest spike on September 17 came in the wake of the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump,” said Guan. “We also found that Georgia looked up voter registration the most, and Atlanta was the most interested metro area in the wake of the debate.”
The data from Final Round AI doesn’t traditionally align with the company’s purpose: their company provides an AI copilot for interviewees to land their desired jobs. Guan said that they applied their technology to bring awareness to misinformation spread by AI impacting politics.
“Voters must be wary of potential misinformation in this intense period, with the advent of AI making it much easier for people to make fake news,” said Guan. “AI has advanced to such a degree that convincing audio and video recordings can be easily made. We urge voters to take care and check that their information comes from trusted, unbiased sources. If news hasn’t come through official channels yet, it is better to wait rather than risk accidentally spreading misinformation.”
As for metro locations, Tucson ranked the fourth highest and Phoenix tied for ranking the eleventh highest.
The top ten metro areas for searches concerning voter registration were, in order: Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Fairbanks, Alaska; Tucson; Columbus, Ohio; San Antonio, Texas; Waco/Temple/Bryan, Texas/Lafayette, Indiana; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.
Georgia was ranked first, and Ohio was second. After Arizona, the top ten searches occurred in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, and Nebraska/Pennsylvania tied for ninth.
However, Arizona didn’t rank as a state or by metro areas in terms of searches for “who won the debate.”
In order, those top ten states were Minnesota, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Iowa.
The top ten metro areas who topped search engines for asking who won the debate were, in order: Duluth, Minnesota/Superior, Wisconsin; Alpena Michigan; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Bend, Oregon; Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin; Rochester, Minnesota/Mason City, Iowa/Austin, Minnesota; Juneau, Alaska; Mankato, Minnesota; La Crosse/Eau Claire Wisconsin; and Ottumwa, Iowa/Kirksville, Missouri.
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by Staff Reporter | Oct 4, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Are you registered to vote, and is your voter registration correct? If not, then it’s time to make a plan.
The deadline to register to vote in Arizona is Monday, October 7 by close of business day in person at your local election office, by 11:59 pm MST online, or postmarked by that day for mail-in registration.
Arizonans with a valid driver’s license or state ID may register to vote online, in person, or by mail.
In order to be eligible to vote a full ballot (not federal elections only), you must provide proof of citizenship by mail with your voter registration form by 5 pm MST on the Thursday before Election Day, which falls on Halloween (October 31) this year. Proof of citizenship includes your driver’s license or state ID, birth certificate, photo ID page of U.S. passport or passport card, U.S. certificate of naturalization or alien registration number, or Bureau of Indian Affairs or Tribal ID card.
In person locations to return your voter registration are at your county recorder’s offices.
If you need to register to vote through mail, you may print off the voter registration form online or request the registration form be mailed to you by your county recorder.
Voter registration cards may take 4-6 weeks to appear in the mail.
Absentee ballot deadlines are October 25 by 5 pm MST for requesting ballots, November 5 by 7 pm MST for returning your ballot by mail or in person. The last day to mail your ballot in is October 29.
Early voting begins October 9 — which is also the day ballots will be mailed and drop boxes for mail-in ballots will be made available — and ends November 1.
All in-person voting requires voters to show proof of identity before receiving a ballot. Voters must provide their name and place of residence to the election official and either:
- Provide one form of the following ID options: valid Arizona driver’s license, valid Arizona non-operating ID card, tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal ID, valid U.S. federal, state, or local government-issued ID;
- Provide two different forms of the following ID options: utility bill of the elector that is dated within 90 days of the date of the election (a utility bill may be for electric, gas, water, solid waste, sewer, telephone, cellular phone, or cable television); bank or credit union statement that is dated within 90 days of the date of the election; valid arizona vehicle registration; indian census card; property tax statement of the elector’s residence; tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification; arizona vehicle insurance card; recorder’s certificate; valid united states federal, state, or local government-issued identification, including a voter registration card issued by the county recorder; any mailing to the elector marked “official election material”;
- Provide a mix of the following ID options: Any valid photo identification from the first list in which the address does not reasonably match the precinct register accompanied by a non-photo identification from the second list in which the address does reasonably match the precinct register; U.S. Passport without address and one valid item from the second list; U.S. Military identification without address and one valid item from the second list.
Members of federally recognized tribes aren’t required to have an address or photo on their tribal ID in order to cast a provisional ballot.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.
Military and overseas voters’ ballots were mailed on September 21. These uniformed and overseas voters may use their own designated portal through the secretary of state’s office to request to register to vote and/or request a mail-in ballot, as well as upload their voted ballot. These voters may also fax their completed ballots to 602-364-2087 before the Election Day deadline of 7 pm MST.
Check the Arizona Voter Information Portal if you would like to:
- Check your voter registration status;
- Subscribe or manage voter registration alerts;
- Find your polling locations;
- Sign up to be a poll worker;
- Request a ballot by mail;
- Check the status of your mail-in ballot or early ballot;
- Check the status of your provisional ballot;
- Submit a public records request;
- Submit a petition request;
- Or, respond to notice.
Ballot tracking for 13 of Arizona’s 15 counties is offered through the Ballot Trax. Maricopa and Pima counties offer their own ballot tracking and notification services through their own recorder’s website.
Others to utilize the tracking tool are California, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. Select counties in other states (Oregon, Alaska, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, New Jersey, and Maryland) also use this ballot tracking service.
Should your mail-in ballot be lost or damaged, you may request a replacement ballot by mail or in person. If through the former, you must contact your county recorder’s office no later than 11 days prior to Election Day, which would be Friday, October 25 this year. If through the latter, you may visit a voting location on or before Election Day to cast your vote in person.
Any further questions may be submitted through your county recorder’s office, or the secretary of state’s office (email elections@azsos.gov or call 1-877-THE-VOTE).
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 4, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Congressman Ruben Gallego, the Democratic candidate vying for Krysten Sinema’s seat, denounced Iran’s largest missile attack against Israel on Tuesday. Iran fired nearly 200 missiles in a two-wave attack, which U.S. and Israeli defenses largely repelled.
During his time in Congress, Gallego repeatedly voted against funding Israel’s defense against Iran, sanctioning Hamas, and disengaging from or condemning Israel boycotts—rather than punishing Hamas, the terrorist entity controlling the Gaza Strip.
“Today, Iran carried out a second significant attack on our key democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel, endangering the lives of innocent civilians,” said Gallego. “The U.S. remains steadfast in its support of Israel in the face of Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
Iran’s attack comes nearly a year to the day after their last major terrorist attack that escalated fighting between the two nations.
Even though Israel suffered mass casualties of its civilians under that attack, Gallego voted against a bill providing funding to Israel the next month.
The congressman did the same two years prior in 2021, rejecting emergency funds to cover Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Earlier that same year, Gallego voted against sanctions on Hamas.
And that year, Gallego enjoyed an $84,000 trip to Qatar paid for by a special interest nonprofit seeking to strengthen trade relations. The Qatari government supports terrorism against Israel, including entities opposed to the Jewish faith responsible for terroristic attacks against the country: the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
When the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel picked up in 2019, Gallego voted against efforts to condemn or prevent participation. That same year, Gallego voted to give funding to the Palestinian Authority, a primary financier of terrorism against Israel.
The year after Hamas broke a short-lived peace with Israel a decade ago — it fired off rockets at Israel for a revenge killing on a Palestinian after its members kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank — Gallego voted to delay presidential authority to waive, suspend, or reduce sanctions on Iran for two years pursuant to an agreement on the nuclear program of Iran.
For years, Gallego supported the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an entity of the Muslim Brotherhood linked to Hamas activity. That all changed within the last year. Gallego pivoted on his sentiments about CAIR last December in response to remarks made by the organization’s executive director and co-founder about the Hamas attack on Israel, Nihad Awad. The CAIR leader said the terrorist attack was a cause for celebration he was “happy to see” occur.
“Statements made by CAIR’s Executive Director regarding the Hamas attack on Israel are despicable and downright antisemitic, and I strongly condemn them,” said Gallego. “The October 7th attack was utterly evil, and any effort to describe it any other way is disgusting. He must resign.”
In June, Gallego voted for an amendment to the 2025 budget prohibiting the State Department’s reliance on death toll statistics given by the Gaza Health Ministry. CAIR condemned this vote.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 2, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Reports have emerged that voters may have had their registration addresses moved by Arizona’s Motor Vehicles Division (MVD) without their consent, potentially jeopardizing their ability to vote.
Such unintended disenfranchisement occurred for thousands of voters in the 2022 midterm election.
The renewed concern for the eligibility of an untold number of legal voters emerged after GOP congressional candidate Abraham Hamadeh’s counsel, Jen Wright, brought up their discovery from earlier this year that the MVD moved the voter registration address for thousands of voters without their consent.
State Senator Wendy Rogers, a Republican, attested that MVD had moved the registration address for one of her family members.
Wright was referencing the Hamadeh v. Mayes case, which the Arizona Court of Appeals decided in April.
In that case, Hamadeh’s counsel explained that they discovered voters who owned other properties in addition to their primary residence and found themselves disenfranchised.
“[A]fter interviewing hundreds of those voters, we found that many are voters who have connections to properties outside of their home county; and due to no fault of their own, but instead changes to the statewide computer system, their registration was moved from their county of residence to the county where they had some connection without the voter’s express knowledge, consent or intent in a way that lacks a requisite procedural due process requirement necessitated before depriving someone of their sacred right to vote,” stated counsel. “[I]t appears that more than 1,100 election day provisional voters were, we believe, wrongly disenfranchised. Turns out, with many of these declarations we have their voting record and history, and we can see when and how it was changed, and it was not by their own intent; and we know their intent because they did not show up to vote in the secondary county that was assigned to them.”
The MVD process that impacted those 1,100 voters went into place in April 2020. The court of appeals said that those Arizonans’ votes still couldn’t count since their registrations reflected an address outside the precinct they attempted to vote in, regardless of the change being made by MVD without the knowledge or consent of the voters.
“[E]ven if voters cast provisional ballots in the wrong precinct because of the alleged faulty but unchallenged election procedure, the voters still were not registered to vote in the precincts where they cast those provisional ballots,” stated the court. “Arizona law simply does not authorize opening the envelopes and counting those ballots.”
This hasn’t been the only case recently in which MVD interactions jeopardized Arizonans’ right to vote.
Last month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that nearly 100,000 longtime Arizona voters caught up in an MVD coding error were allowed to vote, despite a challenge from Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, who put the blame on voters and asked that they be limited to voting a federal ballot only.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that those voters were eligible to vote. Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer ruled that the fault was with the state, not the voters, for their registration changing.
“[A] state administrative failure permitted the Affected Voters to be registered without confirming that they provided DPOC when they received their driver’s licenses and where there is so little time remaining before the beginning of the 2024 General Election,” said Timmer.
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