In the corridors of education, a seismic shift is underway. Local superintendents, entrusted with shaping the educational landscape, are being influenced by a woke agenda that transcends their official roles. Behind this phenomenon lies the shadowy hand of leftist interests, channeled through national and state chapters of the School Superintendent Association (AASA), driving an agenda that reaches deep into the heart of public education.
Recent events in El Paso County, Colorado, underscore the extent of this influence. Allegations have surfaced of a superintendent employing intimidation tactics, supported by legal counsel, to suppress reports of a sexualized gender focus in classrooms. Such incidents reveal a troubling trend of silencing dissent and stifling transparency in the pursuit of ideological conformity.
At the national level, the AASA is actively seeking to modify the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), often hailed as the Parents Bill of Rights (PBOR). While PPRA mandates parental notification of policies and surveys, the proposed amendments could erode parental consent requirements, potentially leading to increased control over data collection by schools, to the detriment of parental rights and oversight.
Arizona provides a stark example of the consequences of such ideological influence. In Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD), Superintendent Scott Menzel’s equity-driven agenda has resulted in a dramatic reallocation of funds away from academics toward social support infrastructure. The repercussions are profound, with declining academic achievement, escalating violence, and growing student dissatisfaction.
Menzel’s emphasis on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) has permeated every aspect of district life, reshaping classroom dynamics and disciplinary measures. Yet, amidst the proliferation of gender identity and sexuality clubs, concerns about academic focus and student safety persist.
Similar challenges echo across Arizona’s educational landscape. In Flagstaff, revelations about controversial sex education curriculum content have sparked parental concern, while in Mesa, allegations of clandestine aid to students undergoing gender transitions have led to legal battles and ethical scrutiny.
The reluctance of some superintendents to address concerns about new survey questions addressing social-emotional learning and sex education, further exacerbates tensions and raises questions about accountability.
Amidst these local debates, broader concerns loom about the influence of ideological agendas within educational institutions. The rise of what critics term the “Communist Whole/Community School philosophy” underscores the need for vigilance and a return to fundamental principles of education.
In this landscape of change, House Bill 2717 proposes a radical overhaul of the educational system in Mohave and La Paz County. Advocates argue for increased efficiency and cost savings, but questions linger about the potential concentration of power in the hands of county superintendents and its impact on local autonomy and accountability.
As parents and residents, it is incumbent upon us to remain vigilant and hold school officials and school board members accountable. The future of education hinges not only on academic excellence but also on safeguarding the principles of transparency, parental rights, and proper legal oversight in our schools.
Tamra Farah has twenty years of experience in public policy and politics, focusing on protecting individual liberty and promoting limited government. She’s served at the director level at Americans for Prosperity-Colorado, FreedomWorks, and currently with Arizona Women of Action.
A Flagstaff elementary school posted fliers for an LGBT “name change clinic” at its elementary school.
DeMiguel Elementary School in the Flagstaff Unified School District advertised one•n•ten’s legal name change clinic, which offers to help minors change their legal name for their “transition,” the Daily Signalreported.
“Are you a trans or gender nonconforming individual and need help legally changing your name?” the poster says. “We are collaborating with One-N-Ten and the Northern Arizona law firm of Aspey Watkins & Diesel, PLLC to host a hybrid (virtual & in-person) Name Change Clinic, with 1-1 legal consultation!”
LGBT youth organization one•n•ten provides LGBT programs to minors as young as 11 years old. One•n•ten “envisions a world where all LGBTQ youth and young adults are embraced for who they are, actively engaged in their communities, and empowered to lead.”
Programs at one•n•ten include “SexFYI!,” a monthly sexual health program for ages 14 – 17 and 18 – 24 “that is inclusive of their body, gender identity and sexual orientation, including fluidity therein.”
In a Feb. 26 meeting, the district also proposed “updating” the verbiage in official district policies from “boy/girl” to “people,” allowing students to attend sex education classes designed for the opposite sex, and updating curriculum to be more “inclusive” of gender-fluid ideology.
School board president Christine Fredericks responded to parental complaints, saying “Bring it on.” She told parents she would “never apologize for being inclusive.”
Peoria Unified School District Governing Board member Heather Rooks posted on X that Fredericks’ indifference about parental rights should inspire Arizonans to prevent her reelection.
Parents it’s time to “Bring it on” in November. Vote these people out! https://t.co/O4BGaw4vIm
— Heather Rooks The Peoria Mom (@ThePeoriaMom) March 27, 2024
“Parents, it’s time to “Bring it on” in November,” she said. “Vote these people out!”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
In Flagstaff, a citizen requesting one hour of police body camera footage could expect to pay about $80.
Flagstaff Police Department body camera footage will now cost $46 per hour reviewed, along with a $30 charge for digital media storage, after the city council voted to no longer offer the records for free.
The Flagstaff City Council voted on Tuesday to charge for the footage during their regular meeting. The council cited a law from the state legislature enacted last October, which enabled cities to begin charging for police body camera footage. The law set the maximum fee at $46, which the council adopted.
The council noted in its presentation on the proposed fee that the hourly salary costs for legal review of public records requests of footage, in addition to the redactions by records personnel, exceeded the state statute cap of $46.
The city estimated that the labor cost of FPD’s records lead was $37 an hour, while a records supervisor was $42 an hour, and a legal advisor’s labor cost was $118 an hour. Factoring those estimates and excluding use of equipment or digital media costs, the city calculated that the hourly cost to review, redact, and copy the footage was around $160 an hour.
The presentation further suggested that the public mitigate its costs by narrowing public records requests to specific videos within a case, rather than casting a wide net. City staff noted that FPD posts videos of certain critical incidents online at no charge.
“Costs for videos can be managed by making requests for specific videos, such as one where a person was arrested, or ones where a particular people were interviewed as opposed to all videos in each case,” stated the city.
The city’s financial impact description on its final agenda noted that staff spent over 200 hours redacting body camera footage over the course of one year, July 2022 to July 2023: about four hours a week. However, the city’s presentation on the policy said that the 200 hours were spent reviewing body camera footage, not the time it took to redact and download the footage.
The city estimated that redactions took as long as 45 minutes per every hour of video. For downloads, they estimated it takes about 20 minutes for a CD download per hour of video and three minutes for a thumb drive transfer per hour of video.
The 200 hours were responsive to about 136 public records requests. For all that time, the city estimated that it would have collected over $9,200 in revenue under the state statute’s $46 cap.
The legislature previously passed a law enabling the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to charge for body camera footage in 2021. DPS charges about $42 per hour of footage reviewed.
The council passed the policy without any comment.
Additionally, the city updated the language describing the police body camera records from “copies of tapes” to “digital media.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Flagstaff is poised to implement a uniform ban on all paid advertising at the Pulliam Airport following the threat of a lawsuit for banning a firearms ad.
This latest proposal comes after pushback to the city’s proposed prohibition on firearms advertising, a policy that came about after denying admission of an ad from an indoor shooting facility, Timberline Firearms and Training.
During the city council’s work session meeting on Tuesday, councilwoman Lori Matthews said that the city didn’t rely on the airport advertising for its revenue stream, and that determining what could be deemed offensive was too time-consuming and problematic.
“I feel that that’s a more equitable way to do it so that we’re not having discussions every time there’s something we didn’t think about,” said Matthews.
City manager Greg Clifton concurred with Matthews’ view that the potential cost and effort of defending advertising policy to the public and in court would far exceed the airport’s revenue stream.
“We’re talking, maybe, tens of thousands of dollars annually,” said Clifton. “This is not worth it.”
Mayor Becky Daggett agreed; she said that they’d already spent far too much time on their part and on staff’s part to review, debate, and refine the policy.
The Goldwater Institute, which sent a demand letter on behalf of Wilson, told AZ Free News that this latest move by the city was an effort to maintain control and shut out opposing views.
“The city is tying itself in knots to suppress viewpoints it doesn’t like. First, the city violated Rob’s constitutional rights by falsely claiming his ad shows ‘violence or anti-social behavior.’ Then, officials got to work crafting a new airport advertising policy specifically meant to target Rob and his business: an unconstitutional ban on all firearms-related airport ads,” said the organization. “After the Goldwater Institute made clear this new policy wouldn’t stand up in court, officials are now considering a blanket ban on all advertising at the airport rather than defend an indefensible position. There’s a better way: the city should simply allow Rob to run his harmless ad, as he has already done thousands of times, with no complaints.”
The Goldwater Institute sent legal notice to the city last month. In September, Republican lawmakers also warned the city that their proposed ban would be unconstitutional and unlawful.
During the Tuesday meeting, deputy city attorney Kevin Fincel discussed the new draft city advertising policy. Part of the presentation lamented that widespread press coverage of the firearms ban portion of the policy had resulted in controversy, and that some quotes by the press were inaccurate or misleading.
Specifically, the city took issue that multiple outlets included the following quote from the Goldwater Institute claiming that Flagstaff was “abusing its power to push an anti-gun agenda.”
Fincel noted that Timberline Firearms hadn’t run an ad in the airport since 2019. The city maintained that it hadn’t banned the shooting range from advertising, just that specific ad submitted.
“I don’t think Timberline was denied the ability to run an ad at the airport. I think, again, Timberline wanted to run a certain ad at the airport that staff took issue with or possibly discuss to edit,” said Fincel. “I think there was a narrative too, […] it was never an attempt to prevent Timberline from advertising, definitely not from the city,
The city included a July 7 email from Economic Vitality director Heidi Hansen to Wilson, citing it as proof that the city offered alternative advertising opportunities through Discover Flagstaff. The email offered no guarantee that the alternative would allow Wilson’s ad.
“Further, to our Discover Flagstaff, business relationship, they are very good at listening, understanding and then providing a plan,” said Hansen in the email. “They are very accessible, responsive, and reactive, they pivot when we need to pivot – they understand our business as many staff have worked in Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO). If you are interested in learning more and seeing how they might be able to cast a local net for you, I would give one of them a call to get more information. It’s an extremely targeted way to advertise.” (emphasis added)
City staff charged with reviewing ads for approval took issue with the ad because it depicted an individual firing a gun at a paper silhouette target. The city claimed that the ad conflicted with guidelines barring the representation of “violence or antisocial behavior.”
The contested ad by Timber Firearms and Training may be watched below:
The city plans to take action on a finalized version of the ban on paid advertising at the Pulliam Airport on Nov. 21.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The city of Flagstaff is looking to designate Juneteenth and Native American Heritage Day as two official city holidays this year.
Flagstaff’s Commission on Diversity Awareness reported during last week’s meeting that they would be working with the Indigenous Commission to establish the two holidays.
City officials noted that the city would be aligning with the Biden administration’s initiative, with bipartisan support from Congress, declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. Juneteenth occurs on June 19, in recognition of the declaration freeing Texan slaves on June 19, 1865.
In his first proclamation recognizing Juneteenth, President Joe Biden said that slavery has left a legacy of “systemic racism, inequality, and inhumanity,” and that the nation owed it to Black Americans to commit to equitable work.
“In its celebration of freedom, Juneteenth is a day that should be recognized by all Americans,” stated Biden. “And that is why I am proud to have consecrated Juneteenth as our newest national holiday.”
A similar call to action was issued earlier this month by foremost diversity, equity, and inclusion pundit, Ibram Kendi, at a keynote speech arranged by Arizona State University (ASU). Kendi advocated for an authoritarian rule by anti-racist elite, a proposal that ASU later commended in a write-up of the speaking event.
“In order to create a society whereby we have policies and practices that are equitable and just and fair — and provide equal opportunity for all, and institutions that are built on those policies — we don’t necessarily need to create a critical mass of Americans who are anti-racist,” said Kendi. “We just need enough people who can get into positions of power, who will then institute [anti-racist] policies and practices.”
Flagstaff’s proposed Native American Heritage Day — slated to occur on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving — would replace their former recognition of the day, eponymously named “Day After Thanksgiving.”
The federal government already designated Black Friday as Native American Heritage Day. The concept arose from a resolution by former Democratic California Rep. Joe Baca and was signed by Former President George Bush in 2008.
“[Congress] encourages the people of the United States, as well as Federal, State, and local governments, and interested groups and organizations to observe Native American Heritage Day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, including activities relating to—the historical status of Native American tribal governments as well as the present day status of Native Americans; the cultures, traditions, and languages of Native Americans; and the rich Native American cultural legacy that all Americans enjoy today,” read the resolution.
The city has regularly celebrated November as “Native American Heritage Month” annually.
Last night, Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy proclaimed November 2022 as Native American Heritage Month!
Members of the community are encouraged to learn about and appreciate the history, heritage, and contributions of Native American and Indigenous peoples of this great land. pic.twitter.com/VKgeyAkuAc
Flagstaff hasn’t been the only city to modify its holidays as of late. Last week, Phoenix City Council approved a resolution to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day this year. The city’s move aligned with the Biden administration’s annual declaration of the holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
