by Corinne Murdock | May 19, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
A coalition of Peoria mothers descended on a Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) Governing Board meeting last week to demand an end to critical race theory (CRT) influences in the classroom. Near the end of their public remarks, one mother warned the board members that if they didn’t eradicate CRT from PUSD, then parents would remove their kids.
“If not parents, I want you to know this: the first 100 days of the school year, you yank your kids out of this district. And you will bankrupt this district. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about money. And we all know it. So if they don’t do it, parents – first 100 days, take your kids out. It’s not worth what you will get if you let this go full circle. If you don’t believe me, go to California.”
That mother explained that she and her family fled California after CRT in their schools destroyed their communities. She said that she’d seen how, in real time, the “flowery names” of CRT, diversity, equity, and inclusion ruined schools.
“It has not a thing to do with equality. It has to do with payback. It turned our schools into war zones. [It] was insane – the ‘inclusion’ part was really great too – they break you up into little subcategories and they pit everyone against everyone. I lived it. My 21-year-old son is still dealing with the after-effects,” said the mother. “It is a nightmare. I moved to Arizona to get away from this, only to find it to take root here. And it is on your watch. You are to be the guardians of these people’s children. I don’t want their voices heard. I want their voices listened to. You remember, you had this chance to stop what people are running from. They say 240 Californians are coming here every day. And I can tell you why. It doesn’t work.”
Some mothers presented receipts: emails obtained from open records requests. Another mother documented an email exchange involving PUSD Social Studies Curriculum and Instructional Specialist Jen Mundy, which she reported was proof that teachers were being bribed by EverFi with $15 Amazon gift cards for teacher referrals.
As AZ Free News reported, EverFi is an online educational platform that specializes in social justice curriculum. In an email copy obtained by AZ Free News, one EverFi director did offer teachers $15 Amazon gift cards for each successful referral to another teacher. As we reported previously, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is one of EverFi’s top donors.
The mother also cited an email from an elementary school principal, which reportedly called parents “wackos” for challenging the curriculum.
“‘Parents are wackos with a platform to spread propaganda.’ Does the administration not view parents as partners?” asked the mother. “We elect you, school board members. We should be partnering together. We are entrusting our children to you for their education. Are you going to continue to condone administration speaking this way about parents? Why is the administration being told to silence parents? I will not be silenced. Parents will not be silenced.”
The mother also claimed that EverFi 306: Continuing Stories, a curriculum focused on African American history, was being paid for by the NFL and Arizona Cardinals. AZ Free News has been unable to verify that claim. EverFi markets its courses as free to K-12 educators.
That mother also brought up a survey administered to students by EverFi’s Diversity Foundations program called “Recognizing Privilege.” She said that it asked children private questions about their home life.
“This is a third-party vendor that is collecting personal data on our kids. Where is this data going and how will they use it?” asked the mother.
The mother then cited remarks made during the Arizona School Boards Association’s (ASBA) annual Equity Event, which she noted some PUSD board members attended.
“One of the guest speakers, Calvin Terrell stated that: ‘White privilege families abuse IEPs [individualized educational plans] for their kids to get into Ivy League Schools.’ I have three kids on IEPs who need these plans and services to succeed in school,” said the mother. “Because my kids are white, do they fall into this statement, President Sandoval?”
While she was on the subject, the mother took a moment to criticize the ASBA’s Equity Event. She challenged PUSD Board President David Sandoval for the content and nature of that event.
“The ASBA Equity Event tries to create a divide in America by trying to shame kids into apologizing [for] something they never were. We should be teaching our kids about seeing and valuing humanity, not colors,” said the mother. “David Sandoval, your actions speak louder than any statement you give.”
Another mother, Jodi Brackett, presented a passage printed in her son’s yearbook declaring that no lives mattered until black lives mattered. As she raised the book for the board to see, attendees gasped and booed.
“This […] should never be in any kid’s yearbook: ‘All lives won’t matter until black lives matter,’” read Brackett. “That is unacceptable. And I think everyone knows that all lives matter. And this should never be advertised in a yearbook.”
Brackett also noted that CRT shouldn’t be in schools because of its Marxist elements.
Another mother pleaded with the board members to stand strong and be leaders against CRT.
“Do not lose your authenticity in an attempt to be liked by the sick-minded who are trying to convert your schools into indoctrination factories,” said the mother. “You are also parents yourselves. It is impossible to believe that you will embrace for your own kids such [a] curriculum injected with hatred and adult content materials.”
The mother noted that she couldn’t discuss some of the curriculum because it was prohibited by board rules – though her son was learning about it in class.
“The Code of Conduct when addressing the board lists ‘no political views, no sexual content.’ So I, an adult, am not allowed in this forum, to bring for show-and-tell, pornographic material or talk about sexual orientations – but you are voting to give permission to the superintendent, to in turn give permission to [the] master of curriculum to do just that,” noted the mother.
She also pointed out that the board was being hypocritical by having police present at the meeting, though they allow EverFi educational content that promotes defunding the police through its teachings on Black Lives Matter (BLM). The mother’s point earned applause.
BLM’s call for police to be defunded, #DefundthePolice, gained traction last year after the death of George Floyd.
Another mother, Gina Blair, explained that CRT would only hurt children and divide the country further.
“What happened to looking at someone’s heart and character and judging them on that very important factor only? Isn’t that the one true way to be truly non-biased [sic] and not racist?” said Blair. “Please understand we elected you as board members
Blair explained that she was very well-versed in inclusion, considering her two school-aged children have severe disabilities, and that CRT wasn’t inclusion. She said that teaching inclusion had nothing to do with modifying history.
Watch the mothers’ full remarks here:
Corinne Murdock is a contributing reporter for AZ Free News. In her free time, she works on her books and podcasts. Follow her on Twitter, @CorinneMurdock or email tips to corinnejournalist@gmail.com.
by AZ Free News | May 19, 2021 | News
They have been long-time friends and on Tuesday, Governor Doug Ducey and Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich capped their professional relationship by signing an agreement to secure the neighboring states’ water future and expand collaboration to monitor air quality.
The agreement signed by the Governors is the result of negotiations between representatives of Arizona and Sonora serving on the Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC), a cross-border non-profit organization aimed at strengthening the relationship between the neighboring states. Known as a Memorandum of Understanding, the agreement includes studying opportunities for desalination, the process to remove salt and other minerals from water so it can be made drinkable.
The professional partnership forged between Governors Ducey and Pavlovich stretches back to their first meeting in July 2015, and has remained solid through multiple changes in leadership at the national level in both Washington and Mexico City.
During today’s meeting, the Governors also met with members of the AMC and its 16 binational committees to discuss innovative measures to tackle issues facing the region and upcoming projects.
by Terri Jo Neff | May 18, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
A bill which would allow restaurants whose liquor licenses prohibit off-premises or to-go sales of booze to lease a portion of another type of liquor license that allows for such sales was sent Monday to Gov. Doug Ducey.
HB2773 allows a bar, wine bar, or liquor store to lease its off-sale privileges of non-mixed cocktails for one-year periods to a restaurant which under current law is prohibited from engaging in such to-go sales. The lessee and lessor must be located in the same county, and the lessor’s liquor license must be held in non-use status.
Under the legislation, the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control (DLLC) will be required to establish an off-sale privileges lease amount for urban and rural counties “that fairly recognizes and is derived from the commercial value of selling spirituous liquor for off-premises consumption.” However, the lessee and lessor can agree to a lease amount different from the DLLC amount.
Other provisions of HB2773 allow a bar or liquor store to begin selling mixed cocktails with a tamper proof seal for off-premises consumption as of Oct. 1. And restaurants can apply to lease those mixed cocktails to-go privileges from a bar or liquor store for one-year periods through Dec. 31, 2025 before applying for a newly created to-go mixed cocktails permit beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The value of a to-go cocktail lease will be established by the DLLC.
If the lease plan is signed by Ducey, the legislation calls for all lease payments to be paid in full in advance, and all existing applicable laws and regulations concerning containers, quantities, and training will apply. Any violations or liability connected to liquor service under a leased privilege or permit would be attributed only the leasing restaurant licensee, according to the bill.
Most restaurants operate with a Series 6 or 7 liquor licenses which cost a few hundred dollars, while bars typically have a Series 12 license which allows for more options such as selling liquor to-go. Series 12 licenses are limited in number and can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Finding a way for restaurants to conduct off-premises sales of spiritous liquor has been a priority for the Arizona Restaurant Association since November when a state judge ordered the immediate end to one of Ducey’s COVID-19 executive orders which allowed restaurants to violate state law by selling alcohol on a to-go basis even though their liquor license prohibited such sales.
The executive order issued in June 2020 also forbid law enforcement agencies or DLLC from taking any action to enforce the state law. At the same time, many bars, saloons, and wine bars were forced shut due to other Ducey executive orders or public health regulations.
The executive order was challenged in court by attorney Ilan Wurman on behalf of dozens of Series 6 and 7 licensees. Judge Pamela Gates of the Maricopa County Superior Court shot down the governor’s order, ruling that Ducey was not allowed to suspend Arizona’s liquor laws even during a state of emergency.
Gates’ order forced restaurants to stop to-go sales of liquor at the end of 2020, but Dan Bogert of the Arizona Restaurant Association suggested at the time that a change in state law was needed.
“I think that you don’t need to look any further for evidence of that to how popular this is with the consumer base,” Bogert said. “Furthermore, we’re going to be looking at bringing some legislation forward in the next legislative session to address this permanently.”
HB2773 outlines restrictions on the percent of on-site and off-premises liquor sales a restaurant can have. The bill also authorizes a bar, beer, and wine bar or restaurant with a lease to maintain a delivery service. And it includes language retroactive to July 1, 2020 to exempt the manufacture or sale of certain bitters products from regulation under Arizona’s alcohol beverage laws.
by AZ Free News | May 18, 2021 | News
On Monday, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, and Arizona Board of Regents member, Karrin Taylor Robson, announced their plans to run in the governor’s race.
The announcements have been expected for some time.
Yee has spent most of her adult life working in the government sector.
Yee served as executive fellow for the Office of the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, program and policy analyst for Wilson on the California State Board of Education. She served as deputy cabinet secretary for the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, before becoming director of communications and government affairs for the Arizona State Treasurer’s Office.
Yee was appointed by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to the Arizona House of Representatives to replace fellow Republican Doug Quelland after he was ousted for violating Clean Election Limits. She was later elected to the State Senate. She was elected to the Treasurer’s Office in 2018.
Taylor Robson was appointed to the Arizona Board of Regents in June of 2017 by Governor Doug Ducey.
Taylor Robson is the founder and president of a development company, Arizona Strategies. Prior to forming Arizona Strategies, Taylor Robson served as executive vice president of DMB Associates, Inc., a Scottsdale-based master-planned community developer. Prior to DMB, she was a principal with the law firm of Biskind, Hunt & Taylor, P.L.C., where she practiced in the areas of land use, development and zoning law representing large land owners on complex land use cases.
by Terri Jo Neff | May 17, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
After months of meetings, crunching numbers, and compromises, the group of legislators and state staff tasked with hammering out Arizona’s $12 billion budget could be ready to roll it out this week.
Rep. Regina Cobb (R-LD5) told AZ Free News that after numerous meetings this session the fine-tuning of the budget package “is down to the last few items.” As a result, legislators could be presented with the package in a few days.
The two most anticipated features involve whether Arizona’s current multi-rate income tax structure will transition to a flat tax rate, and what types of immediate tax cuts will be divvied out of the state’s budget surplus of between $1 billion and $2 billion.
Cobb, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said tax relief via tax cuts was on top of the House’s budget wish list heading into budget negotiations, and now that all sides have come to “a general agreement on how much there is to spend” that income tax cuts for all Arizonans are part of the budget.
The other priority was a proposed flat tax which could drop Arizona’s four income tax brackets (which range from 2.59 percent to 8 percent) into one flat tax. According to Cobb, that plan is would get all Arizonans to a 2.5 percent income tax by 2024. A flat income tax has been supported by Gov. Doug Ducey although he had not proposed a rate plan.
Cobb has been involved in the budget or appropriation side of the legislature for five of the seven years she has been in office. Normally the House and Senate hammer out their differences and then bring the plan to the Governor’s Office. This year, however, the budget process differed in that the executive side became involved earlier.
“It was clear our philosophies between the House and the Senate were different, so we made it a three-way negotiation sooner than expected,” Cobb said, adding that the “majority of the negotiating and give-and-take is complete.”
Among those working with Cobb on this year’s budget is House Majority Leader Rep. Ben Toma, as well Sen. David Gowan, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. J.D. Mesnard, chair of the Senate’s Commerce Committee. A few issues remain, which is not unusual at this stage.
“The last items are always the most controversial items,” Cobb said.
Ducey introduced a budget for consideration by the legislature when the session started in January. The governor’s budget included discretionary spending and revenue changes necessary to enact a balanced budget, with a forecasted $350 million surplus.
That surplus prediction continued to exponentially grow every few weeks. In mid-April, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and its Finance Advisory Committee of public and private sector economists pegged the surplus at $1 billion, while some economists put it closer to $1.5 billion or even $2 billion.
The budget discussions are also addressing the impact of Proposition 208, which mandates a 3.5 percent income tax surcharge for thousands of Arizonans, many of whom are small business owners. Those subject to the surcharge are being “walloped” by the tax and need relief, according to Scot Mussi, president of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.
“We currently have an uncompetitive tax rate structure, which needs to be a priority for the legislature,” Mussi told AZ Free News. “We need a simpler tax code, we need to correct the damage from Prop 208, and we need to push for a $1 billion tax cut to return that money to the taxpayers.”
Another priority, particularly for business owners, is for Arizona’s income tax code to better conform or match up with the federal tax code. This limits the potential for double taxation of income, Mussi explained.
Mussi also noted none of the tax cuts or additional spending due to the surplus will impact Arizona’s rainy day fund, which was established in 1990 as a reserve of funds the state could turn to during economic downturns.
Once the budget bills pass the House and the Senate, Ducey will have the option to sign them, veto them, or let them take effect without his signature. He also has authority to do a line‐item veto of appropriations, although any veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each chamber before adjournment.
But how long it will take for the budget to get approved is not very clear. Traditionally, the legislature will sine die after the budget is approved. Sine die marks the adjournment and end of the session without setting a date for reconvening. It also terminates any unfinished legislative business.
However, Sen. Kelly Townsend has suggested there should be no sine die in case the Senate’s election audit of Maricopa County requires some type of legislative action. She has also been critical of the fact several of her 18 election reform bills never made it out of a Senate committee this year.
It is possible Rep. John Kavanagh, as chair of the House Government & Elections Committee, will introduce strike-everything amendments to others bills in an effort to force the Senate to support Townsend’s legislation, thus potentially ensuring her vote on the budget.
None of the budget surplus being considered by the legislature involves COVID-19 funds, as Arizona is one of a handful of states in which the executive branch controls federal funds issued to the state. That means Ducey has control of his own multi-billion purse derived from federal monies.
Making matters even trickier is that approving the budget will require the support of all 16 Republican senators and 31 Republican representatives unless a Democrat or two cross the aisle. Such uncertainty means it is unclear how much time will be needed by the leadership in both chambers to be ready for a vote.
Another shadow hanging over the budget negotiations is whether Arizona will be punished by the U.S. Treasury Department if it approves tax cuts which the Biden Administration later considers were “directly or indirectly” offset by federal COVID-19 funds.
Attorney General Mark Brnovich has filed for a court order declaring part of the recent COVID-19 relief package unenforceable. That provision prohibits states from using COVID-19 federal monies to essentially underwrite tax cuts, but the language needs to be clarified, according to nearly two dozen attorneys general.
“The fact that those politically allied to enact the Act cannot even agree with each other as to what the Tax Mandate means provides powerful evidence that it is subject to multiple potential interpretations,” Brnovich argues in a lawsuit filed in March in U.S. District Court. “Indeed, the language of the Tax Mandate is patently ambiguous, and even borderline incoherent.”
[pdf-embedder url=”http://azfreenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FY-2022-Summary-Book.pdf” title=”FY 2022 Summary Book”]
by azfreenews1 | May 17, 2021 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
With the legislature expected to take up the budget package sooner than later, three high-profile bills appear to have been shelved by Senate President Karen Fann, despite growing calls for her to calendar them for a vote before the session ends.
HB2190, also known as the Vaccine Passport bill, along with SB1074 and SB1532 cleared the House and were transmitted to the Senate. But none have appeared on a Senate calendar, which is controlled by Fann.
SB1074 would prohibit state government entities, including cities and counties, from forcing employees to engage in orientation, training, or therapy that is based on a theory of blame or judgment on the basis of race, ethnicity, or gender. SB1532 bans Arizona’s public schools and community colleges from discussing controversial issues unless presented in a way which addresses diverse or opposing perspectives. Both are commonly referred to as anti-Critical Race Theory legislation.
Meanwhile, HB2190 seeks to protect the rights and private medical data of Arizonans against efforts to force consumers to prove their COVID-19 vaccine status or disclose their status in order to receive government benefits. The current version was introduced in February by Sen. Kelly Townsend and cleared the House through efforts by Rep. Bret Roberts, who has expressed frustration at the lack of action in the Senate.
“Let the Senators that want to be on the record, be on the record on this important issue!” he tweeted last week. In response, Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita responded by publicly supporting a vote on HB2190.
“I would like an opportunity to cast a yes vote for this bill. Put it on the board of truth!” tweeted Ugenti-Rita, who chairs the Senate’s Government Committee.
Behind the scenes, some members of the Republican caucus point to the fact Fann allowed SCR1044 -which deals with in-state tuition for DREAMERS and others without U.S. citizenship- to go to a floor vote but has dug in her heels on bills which seek to protect Arizona workers and students.
Bills which Fann has placed on Monday’s Senate calendar involve election deadlines, instruction of the Holocaust, the impounding of vehicles by law enforcement, and advertising rules for political action committees.
