by Corinne Murdock | Nov 11, 2021 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
More questions of Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg’s involvement in a secret dossier of parents and other political opposition created by his father, Mark Greenburg, have arisen due to a documented history of him sharing a computer with his family members. Jann-Michael has denied any knowledge of or connection with the dossier. However, there are two instances in the past where his shared computer activity became evident.
In an August school board meeting, Jann-Michael admitted that his brother, also named Mark, was the one who set up his Microsoft Word account. He didn’t explain further why his brother’s profile and name continued to be on his computer.
“[M]y brother originally set up my Microsoft Word – my brother’s name is Mark Greenburg that is why it says Mark Greenburg as opposed to my name Jann-Michael Greenburg,” stated Jann-Michael.
Nearly 50 parents and political opponents were targeted in the dossier, which reads like opposition research (“oppo research” for short) – a practice of gathering intelligence on political opponents. Folders were either given the names of their subjects, themes of where they fell in his mind (such as “crazy” or “faith-based”), or musings of what kinds of action the creator could take with their contents: for example, “false and defamatory” follows after the names of some parents.
This wouldn’t be Mark’s first foray into conducting oppo research and attacks against Jann-Michael’s political enemies. According to AZ Central, Mark created a parody website and Twitter account in 2018 for previous SUSD Governing Board President Barbara Perleberg. At the time, Jann-Michael was running to join the board; Perleberg wasn’t a candidate. Jann-Michael defended the website, and criticized Perleberg for initially pursuing a defamation lawsuit against his father.
That would count as the second instance of shared computer activity. According to a court subpoena, Mark’s computer was also used to purchase the website for Jann-Michael’s campaign. Yet, Mark denied both purchasing the website for and being involved in his son’s campaign.
That parody website is still active, though the Twitter account was deleted. In fact, it appears that Mark (or another individual granted access to the site) continued to post on the blog after Jann-Michael’s election; the latest post was published August 2020.
Mark’s latest creation, the dossier, went into great detail. Beyond collections of political Facebook posts, Mark collected records of nursing licenses, divorces, mortgages, family trees, bankruptcies, civil and criminal charges, and a slew of other personal information. It appears that Mark went so far as to file a complaint against one nurse for opposing masks, according to a screenshot. He also included pictures and videos of the children of his perceived political opposition. Mark made sure to note in one file name that the wife of one of his political opponents had an elementary school student. The associated picture was from a social media post highlighting the child’s disability.
Parents and children weren’t the only targets: acclaimed black conservative radio host James T. Harris appeared in the dossier. Harris’s picture with children outside a school board meeting was included, as well as a video he’d posted. Harris addressed his inclusion in a video on Wednesday, likening the dossier to another incident recently uncovered in Chandler where Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) board members coordinated with police to address parents against masks.
“Today on my radio show I found out how deep this thing goes,” said Harris. “Why do these school board members feel the necessity to get information on tax-paying citizens. All we want to do is make sure that our kids are being taught, […] that our kids aren’t being indoctrinated.”
One of the mothers targeted, Amy Carney, called for Jann-Michael’s resignation. A mother of six, Carney is also running for a seat on SUSD’s governing board in 2022.
“I am calling for the immediate resignation of our board president Jann-Michael Greenburg,” asserted Carney. “We cannot allow anyone in a leadership position to secretly compile personal documents and information on moms and dads who have dared speak out publicly or on social media about their grievances with the district.”
Another mother, Heather Rooks, was in complete shock upon discovering the dossier.
“Calls into question: who the real domestic terrorists are here?” said Rooks. “I didn’t know anything about this until late last night. Me and my husband looked it over. It was pretty shocking to see that much information on a file about multiple parents… I wouldn’t even know where to begin because I’m still processing it. I get it, with people who are running for school boards now, but this is completely different. This is parents and their kids, background information, very personal stuff that is all shared on the file. What was he planning on doing with it? What purpose does this serve, to go after parents who are concerned for their kids?”
After the Greenburgs were confronted about the dossier, reports show that someone changed accessibility from public to private. SUSD confirmed in an email to parents on Wednesday that Mark was behind the dossier. They also assured parents that their privacy would be protected.
The dossier does have one other direct tie to Jann-Michael: a PDF download of an email sent to Jann-Michael’s SUSD email account through Outlook, a web app often used by professionals and organizations for email and file storage. The PDF download identified Jann-Michael as the original source – all of the emails and links are clickable, which occurs when an email is downloaded as a PDF from Outlook. The bottom of the PDF also shows the source as this link, https://mail.susd.org/owa/#path=/mail/inbox, which is an SUSD professional email account.
Legal experts say that the dossier may be a violation of Arizona’s Parents Bill of Rights. In a statement, lawyer Alexander Kolodin explained that even Jann-Michael’s tacit consent of certain personal items in the dossier such as those obtained through Mark’s bodycam video would pose a violation.
“These allegations are deeply troubling, especially as concerns the photography of a minor child without parental consent and the taking down of license plate numbers of parents who Mr. Greenberg supposedly perceived as political opponents. Mr. Greenberg is an elected member of the school board. If such a photograph was taken with his express or tacit consent, he would potentially be liable for violations of Arizona’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which recognizes a parent’s “fundamental” right to consent before the government makes a video or voice recording of the minor child. In addition, it has been reported that Mr. Greenberg’s father undertook these acts while he kept his face hidden under a helmet and was wearing motorcycle gear. Both Arizona and the federal government have laws prohibiting both intimidation generally and voter intimidation in particular such as ARS Titles 13 and 16, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. If these allegations are true, Mr. Greenberg and his father might be liable for violating one or more of these laws – though it is difficult to say from the limited facts that have been reported and they must, of course, be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.“
The dossier also included multiple uncategorized bodycam videos recorded by Mark doing various things: eating in a cafe, riding his motorcycle, and even waiting outside a school board meeting. In one video, Mark adjusted his motorcycle gear with his helmet on.
The incognito Mark then walks into a kitchen, where Jann-Michael is seen eating at a table; he looks up at Mark and says “Hi, Dad.” The conversation that follows sounded like Mark and Jann-Michael were talking about legal strategy about a parent.
“We can file a verified complaint,” said Mark. “In other words, like it would start out with her allegation about Frank Graham saying, ‘Of course this isn’t true.’ She messaged Frank Graham.”
“Why not just go solely on the complaint that she filed?” asked Jann-Michael.
“That’s in her letter,” said Mark. “Way before that are her statements about how she’s, like, doing anything she can do to, like, ruin you.”
Jann-Michael received a law degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He passed the New York Bar upon returning to the U.S., and assumed a position as Director of Legal Services at an international music licensing firm based in Arizona: Tresona, the company his father chairs.
In one screen recording of a parent advocacy Facebook group, Mark and Jann-Michael were recorded discussing what Mark was doing. Mark explained that he was recording Facebook parent commentary on Jann-Michael’s critics and political opponents.
“I’m making a movie, a screen movie for you,” explained Mark.
Jann-Michael doesn’t question why. That’s consistent with his other responses to Mark’s actions against political opponents. Jann-Michael hasn’t questioned why his father would create the dossier. He’s only categorically denied his involvement.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Terri Jo Neff | Nov 11, 2021 | Education, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Six public school districts across Arizona are not in compliance with audit reporting requirements and face the loss of state education aid in the coming months, according to the Arizona Auditor General.
Five noncompliant unified districts were advised by Auditor General Lindsey Perry that they have until early January 2022 to rectify their audit issues. Those districts are: Grand Canyon Unified, Pinon Unified, Safford Unified, Show Low Unified, Whiteriver Unified.
Public records show all five districts have failed to submit audited financial statements and reports, as well as a Uniform System of Financial Records for Arizona School Districts (USFR) compliance questionnaire, for year ending June 30, 2020. The items were due Sept. 30, 2021
Those noncompliance notices come on the heels of an advisory issued by Perry’s office in September that the Morristown Elementary School District in Maricopa County did not substantially comply with the USFR following the submission of audit reports prepared by Dobridge & Company PC for the year ending June 2020.
“Our determination is based on the most significant deficiencies cited in the District’s audit reports and USFR Compliance Questionnaire,” Director Cristan Cable wrote on Sept. 21. “These deficiencies are included in the corrective action plan template we provided separately to you and District management.”
Morristown Elementary District’s governing board has until Dec. 21 to implement corrective action or face the loss of state aid.
But while those six districts have found themselves in hot water with the Auditor General, one district recently received good news. In an updated compliance report, the Elfrida Elementary School District in Cochise County is no longer in noncompliance with the USFR.
The noncompliance problem had led the Arizona State Board of Education in December 2019 to direct the Superintendent of Public Instruction to withhold three percent of Elfrida Elementary’s state aid until compliance was achieved.
“We have since received and reviewed the District’s fiscal year (FY) 2020 audit reports and USFR Compliance Questionnaire and reviewed additional FYs 2021 and 2022 records as of September 27, 2021. Based on our review of these documents, the District is no longer in noncompliance with the USFR,” Perry wrote to the State Board of Education.
by Terri Jo Neff | Nov 10, 2021 | Education, News
By Terri Jo Neff |
The Scottsdale Unified School District’s administration is scrambling to do damage control after a group of mothers discovered Governing Board President Jann-Michael Greenburg had access to a Google Drive full of personal information, documents, and photos of about 47 people, including children.
An email sent out Wednesday evening by the SUSD’s Communications Office sought to assure families that their personal and educational data is safe. However, the district also solely blamed the discovered digital dossier* site on Mark Greenburg, the father of Jann-Michael Greenburg.
The damage control appears to be too little too late for many parents in the Scottsdale Unified School District, including Amy Carney, a mother of six, who is among those calling for Greenburg to step down.
“I am calling for the immediate resignation of our board president Jann-Michael Greenburg. We cannot allow anyone in a leadership position to secretly compile personal documents and information on moms and dads who have dared speak out publicly or on social media about their grievances with the district,’ said Carney, who is running for a seat on the Scottsdale Governing Board in November 2022.
Even though Mark Greenburg is listed as the Google Drive owner, records from an Aug. 17 special SUSD board meeting show Jann-Michael admitted sharing a computer with Mark. With Mark and Jann-Michael sharing a computer and a home, there is no way to know which of them has been uploading files (now known as the “G Files”) to the drive, according to concerned parents.
In addition, some parents say that despite Jann-Michael’s denial of involvement with the dossier, they believe there appears to be evidence that Jann-Michael has complete knowledge of the Google Drive files and had shared some of its contents in an effort to intimidate SUSD parents. Parents are calling that an “unacceptable abuse of power.”
The Google Drive files also included information on parents from neighboring school districts, as well as popular conservative radio show host, James T. Harris.
“We request President Greenburg’s resignation from the Governing Board effective immediately for this and other recent embarrassments to our district,” Carney said.
Attorney Alexander Kolodin of the Davillier Law Group expressed his concerns about the situation with the Scottsdale Unified School District.
“These allegations are deeply troubling, especially as concerns the photography of a minor child without parental consent and the taking down of license plate numbers of parents who Mr. Greenberg supposedly perceived as political opponents,” Kolodin said. “Mr. Greenberg is an elected member of the school board. If such a photograph was taken with his express or tacit consent, he would potentially be liable for violations of Arizona’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which recognizes a parent’s ‘fundamental’ right to consent before the government makes a video or voice recording of the minor child.”
But Kolodin says there are more concerns beyond the mere existence of the Google Drive file, including reports that Jann-Michael Greenberg’s father engaged in some acts while keeping his face hidden under a helmet and while wearing motorcycle gear.
“Both Arizona and the federal government have laws prohibiting both intimidation generally and voter intimidation in particular such as ARS Titles 13 and 16, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, the Civil Rights Act of 1957, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” Kolodin said. “If these allegations are true, Mr. Greenberg and his father might be liable for violating one or more of these laws – though it is difficult to say from the limited facts that have been reported and they must, of course, be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
*Because of the personal and sensitive information it contains, AZ Free News is not posting the dossier at this time.
by AZ Free News | Nov 10, 2021 | Economy, News
Over 700,000 jobs are expected to be created in Arizona in the next decade, according to a new report from the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO).
According to the OEO report, Arizona employment is projected to increase from 3,030,216 jobs in 2020 to 3,751,905 jobs in 2030. This translates to growth of 721,689 jobs, or 2.2 percent annualized growth.
Arizona’s job growth rate will beat out—by more than 3 times—the expected overall U.S. growth rate over the same period. U.S. employment is projected to grow by 0.7 percent annually from 2020, compared to 2.2 percent in Arizona.
The largest job gains are anticipated in the Education and Health Services (23,906 jobs annually) and Professional and Business Services sector. The Education and Health Services and Construction sectors are expected to see the fastest job growth rates at 3.2 percent and 2.7 percent annualized growth respectively. The report predicts job growth in all 15 counties and all sectors excluding government.
According to a recent story, Arizona is recovering jobs lost during the pandemic faster than most other states, with the third-fastest jobs recovery in the nation. This comes on top of forecast-beating revenue collections reported by JLBC, another sign of economic strength. In addition, personal income in Arizona rose last year at a rate faster than nearly any state in the country.
Over the previous decade, Arizona employment increased by 492,645 jobs, or 1.8 percent annual change, to 3,030,216 jobs in 2020 from 2,537,571 jobs in 2010.
Arizona is leading on economic and workforce development programs. Major companies including Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Lucid Motors have selected Arizona to build and expand their operations. Arizona has emerged as the number one place for new semiconductor investments and was recently dubbed by Forbes as “U.S. Semiconductor Central.”
by AZ Free News | Nov 10, 2021 | News
Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset Friday, November 12, 2021, to honor Maricopa County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Chad Brackman who died on Wednesday when he was struck by a vehicle.
Lieutenant Brackman, a 22-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, was struck by a vehicle while conducting traffic control in Scottsdale. He was taken to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. He is survived by his wife and children.
“Arizona is saddened by this terrible tragedy,” said Ducey. “Lieutenant Chad Brackman served his communities and our state honorably, and he had a deep devotion to public safety throughout his 22 years of service. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones, along with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the entire law enforcement community. In honor of Lieutenant Brackman’s life and service, I have ordered all flags to be lowered to half-staff.”
by Corinne Murdock | Nov 9, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Invest in Arizona, a campaign to have voters overturn three Senate bills via a ballot referendum, failed a signature review for at least one of their efforts in their three-prong approach: the ballot to overturn SB1783. The Secretary of State’s attorney, Spencer Sharff, shared this information during oral arguments Friday in the case Arizona Free Enterprise Club, et al. v. Katie Hobbs, et al. (CV2021-011491). The campaign reportedly turned in over 123,500 signatures, but only 100,300 were valid. Signature reviews for the other two are underway.
Invest in Arizona characterized SB1783 as a “direct attack” on Prop 208, the ballot initiative passed last year to accrue more educational funds by imposing an additional 3.5 percent surcharge on taxpayers with an annual income over $250,000 for those filing individually or $500,000 filing jointly.
“It gives wealthy individuals a new loophole to use to avoid paying taxes,” claimed Invest in Arizona.
A ruling is pending in the case, which named both Invest in Arizona and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs as defendants. The plaintiff, Arizona Free Enterprise Club, argued that Invest in Arizona’s referendum would violate the state constitution.
“The Arizona Constitution even provides that legislative actions ‘for the support and maintenance of the departments of state government and state institutions’ may not be the subject of a referendum,” asserted the group. “And as our complaint contends, these provisions ‘provide for, and directly relate to, the generation of revenues that are remitted to the general fund and appropriated to various agencies, departments and instrumentalities of the state government.’ That means they are not referable. It also means that [Hobbs] must refuse to accept for filing, verification, or certification any petition in support of these three referendums.”
As AZ Free News reported, out-of-state donors gave millions to Invest in Arizona. One of their principal donors, the National Education Association (NEA), donated over $2.4 million, $30,000 of which Invest in Arizona refunded. The NEA has come under fire by its state associations and the nation at large after it submitted a letter to the Biden Administration requesting parents and community members protesting or getting involved in school board operations be investigated for domestic terrorism.
Just days later, the Biden Administration heeded the NEA’s request. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI and local agencies to investigate the NEA’s claims. It appears that the NEA was comfortable with reaching out for Garland’s assistance: they submitted formal letters of endorsement on behalf of his appointment earlier this year.
In August, the Arizona Supreme Court found that the majority of Prop 208 was “likely unconstitutional,” but remanded the case to a lower court. The justices determined that the constitutionality of the proposition wouldn’t be evident until revenue is accrued: that is, if Prop 208 exceeds the state constitution’s limits on education spending. If the trial court agrees with the supreme court’s assessment, then Prop 208 would be struck down.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
