Disputes between Diane Douglas and the Arizona School Board, 2015-2016
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| Diane Douglas Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction |
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- For more, read our full profile of Diane Douglas and coverage of the 2015 recall effort
Disputes between Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas (R) and the Arizona State Board of Education began in February 2015. The disputes included a number of lawsuits, disagreements over staffing and the powers of the superintendent, and an allegation of assault.
An additional conflict emerged between the superintendent and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R), and Douglas was also the subject of a recall effort in 2015.
Noteworthy events
Firing of board employees and legal action against the board
On February 11, 2015, seeking to fulfill campaign promises to combat the implementation of Common Core standards in Arizona, Douglas attempted to fire the Arizona State Board of Education's Executive Director Christine Thompson and Deputy Director Sabrina Vazquez. Upon firing Thompson and Vazquez, Douglas called them "two liberal staff who have publicly stated they will block all efforts to repeal or change Common Core."[1] The state superintendent holds a seat on the board, and is its lone elected member—the other 10 members are appointed by the governor. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a fellow Republican, intervened in the matter and said that Douglas did not have the authority to fire the two employees.
The next day, the board voted to restore the two employees to their positions; Douglas was the lone dissenting vote.[2][3] In response, she filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education, claiming that the board's actions were against the law.[4] On June 26, 2015, Judge Patricia Starr of the Maricopa Superior Court heard arguments from both parties. On July 14, Judge Starr dismissed the lawsuit, saying that the matter was primarily political in nature and affirming that the board, not the superintendent, had sole authority to fire board employees.[5] Velazquez ultimately resigned in August 2015 and Thompson followed suit shortly thereafter, announcing her resignation on September 11, 2015.[6][7]
Douglas appealed Starr's decision in December 2015, claiming that board employees report directly to the superintendent under Arizona statute. She also objected to the board's hiring of a new executive director after Thompson's resignation in September, asserting that hiring decisions should be made by the superintendent.[8]
Allegations of assault and seating change
Tensions continued and the situation escalated in August 2015 when Douglas claimed that board President Greg Miller physically assaulted her during a board meeting. After the meeting, Douglas filed a formal complaint with the Department of Safety. According to reports, Miller grabbed Douglas' microphone when she began speaking out of turn during a public board meeting. Miller denied the allegation and said that he was merely trying to move her microphone and that he did not touch her.[9]
After Douglas filed a formal allegation of assault, Miller moved her seat away from him for future meetings. In explaining his actions, Miller said that immediately after the meeting, Douglas "had her spokesman say that I couldn’t control my temper and I should resign my position. That sounds like it was set up, and that’s why she’s not going to sit next to me again.”[10] In response, Douglas issued a statement saying, "I will not move from the Superintendent's chair. If you strike me, grip my arm in anger, or yank my microphone again, you will once more face assault charges."[11]
Miller resigned from office on August 17, 2016, at the request of Governor Ducey, citing his feud with Douglas as the motivating factor. "Hopefully this action will allow the Board to move forward with the very important work on its agenda and fulfill its constitutional role by encouraging the superintendent to move beyond her personal issues with me," Miller said in a statement announcing his resignation.[12]
Legal action against Douglas
Douglas boycotted the school board meeting that followed her allegations of assault. During that meeting, the Board of Education unanimously decided to file two lawsuits of its own against Douglas.[10][11] After the meeting, Greg Miller explained the board's decision: "We're done. We are going to move forward with all options that we can."[13]
The legal actions stemmed from the board's decision to move its offices from the Department of Education building, where Douglas works, to the Governor's Tower. Board of Education President Greg Miller said that the move was because tensions between Douglas and the board had created a work environment that was "not healthy" for the staffers. He alleged that "people in [Douglas'] administration were monitoring their phone calls and e-mails and everything else."[14]
As a result of the move, Board of Education employees requested remote access to view teacher files, saying that they needed access to those files in order to run background checks on school employees and safeguard the well-being of students. Douglas told the board that their employees could have access to the files, but only if they accessed them from their old offices in the Department of Education building. She declined to respond to press inquiries on the subject; however, her press aide told the press that remote access to the files was denied for security reasons.
The board sued Douglas to gain remote access to the files on September 29, 2015. The board claimed that without access, investigators were unable to promptly and thoroughly look into allegations of teacher misconduct. In the same suit, the board also complained that Douglas had refused to take down the board's old website and redirect traffic to their new website. When the school board decided to move out of their Department of Education offices, they had created a new website and asked Douglas to take down the old site. Board Executive Christine Thompson said that the request was initially followed, but that since June, Douglas had been unwilling to cooperate.[13][15]
Reaction from the legislature
Senate President Andy Biggs (R), Majority Leader Steve Yarbrough (R), and Majority Whip Gail Griffin (R) wrote a letter to Douglas and board President Greg Miller on November 10, 2015, imploring the two to end their feud. "We urge both sides to seek an immediate solution on this matter to ensure that State Board of Education investigators have unencumbered access to the documents and information which they need to continue the process of protecting students.[16] The senators asked both parties to not pursue further litigation and settle any pending lawsuits outside of the courtroom.
In February 2015, the Senate Education Committee added an amendment to a House education bill clarifying the distribution of powers between the State Board of Education and superintendent. The board was granted the power to hire and dismiss employees, while the investigative unit was transferred under the purview of the Department of Education, which is headed by the superintendent. Governor Ducey signed the bill into law in May 2016, saying, "This compromise will allow all of us to focus on what is truly important — ensuring that every child in Arizona has access to the best public education system in the nation."[17] Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Kiley dismissed the board's lawsuit against Douglas on July 5, 2016, by request of both Douglas and the board.[18]
Public reactions
Douglas earned praise from state educators during a trip wherein she made 14 stops to tour school districts across the state, holding town hall meetings that hosted speakers discussing the problems that each district faced. The superintendent also spent time after each session meeting with parents and district officials. "She has not been easygoing. She has been very firm about us following the letter of the law. There is nothing more than I could ask than that. I enjoy having a superintendent I can communicate with," said H.T. Sanchez, superintendent of the Tucson Unified School District.[19] President of the Arizona Education Association Andrew Morrill also praised Douglas: "The conversations I have had with Diane Douglas have been very productive in terms of finding common ground on issues relating to students and teachers."[19]
Others said that Douglas' confrontational behavior was illustrative of her inexperience with state-level politics. "She is just a horrible superintendent, she is not a leader," said former state Superintendent Jaime Molera (R), adding, "To get things done, you have to work with the people in the schools."[20]
Timeline of Events
November 4, 2014: Diane Douglas won the 2014 race for school superintendent by a narrow margin of 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent.
February 11, 2015: Douglas attempted to fire two school board employees.
February 12, 2015: Gov. Ducey told the press that Douglas overstepped her authority. The board voted for the employees to return to work.
May 9, 2015: Citing tensions with Superintendent Douglas, the board decided to move their offices from the Department of Education building to the Governor's Tower.
May 21, 2015: Douglas took the School Board to court, arguing that she had the right to fire the two board employees in question.
June 26, 2015: Judge Patricia Starr heard arguments in the first lawsuit.
July 14, 2015: Judge Starr dismissed Douglas' case.
August 24, 2015: Douglas alleged that School Board President Greg Miller assaulted her. Miller denied the accusation.
September 11, 2015: Executive Director of the Board Christine Thompson announced her resignation.
September 15, 2015: The board unanimously voted to sue Douglas.
December 2015: Douglas appealed Judge Starr's ruling.
May 11, 2016: Governor Ducey signed legislation ending the lawsuits.
August 17, 2016: Board President Greg Miller resigned.
See also
- Diane Douglas
- Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Public education in Arizona
- Arizona Department of Education
- Gov. of Arizona Doug Ducey
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction recall, Arizona (2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tucsom.com, "Douglas seeks appeals court ruling over firing employees," December 17, 2015
- ↑ 12 News & The Arizona Republic, "Fired Arizona Department of Education leaders return to work," February 18, 2015
- ↑ 12 News & The Arizona Republic, "Proposed bill could settle Douglas-Ducey spat," February 20, 2015
- ↑ The Arizona Republic, Cathryn Creno, "Douglas - Arizona Board of Education fight goes to court," accessed Sept. 22, 2015
- ↑ AZ Family, Bob Christie and Paul Davenport, "Judge grants request to halt suit against Board of Education," accessed Sept. 22, 2015
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, Howard Fischer, "Arizona Board of Education votes to sue Diane Douglas," accessed Sept. 22, 2015
- ↑ AZ Central, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, "State Board of Education executive quits amid feud with Diane Douglas," accessed Sept. 22, 2015
- ↑ Tucson.com, "Douglas seeks appeals court ruling over firing employees," December 17, 2015
- ↑ Fox 10, Phoenix, Nicole Garcia, "Arizona Board of Education votes to sue Diane Douglas," accessed Sept. 22, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Arizona Capitol Times, Howard Fischer, "State school board votes to authorize lawsuits against Superintendent Diane Douglas," accessed Sept. 24, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Fox 10, Phoenix, Nicole Garcia, "Arizona Board of Education votes to sue Diane Douglas," accessed Sept. 24, 2015
- ↑ Azcentral, "Arizona Board of Education president abruptly resigns, cites feud with Diane Douglas," August 18, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Arizona Republic, Yvonne Sanchez, "Board of Education escalates feud with Diane Douglas," accessed Sept. 24, 2015
- ↑ The Arizona Republic, Yvonne Sanchez, "State board education staffers move to governor's tower," accessed Sept. 24, 2015
- ↑ azcentral, "Education board sues Diane Douglas over information to investigate teachers," October 1, 2015
- ↑ Arizona State Senate," November 10, 2015
- ↑ Phoenix Business Journal, "Ducey signs bill to end education leadership lawsuits," May 11, 2016
- ↑ Azcentral, "Judge formally ends 1 of 2 Diane Douglas-Arizona Board of Education lawsuits," July 15, 2016
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 azcentral, "The many friends, foes and fights of Diane Douglas," November 15, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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