I can’t believe I am sitting at High Desert Middle School’s auditorium waiting to see the Globe High School Band, and the Miami High School Band and Choir perform together in a concert. For all I know this is a first time event. I feel as if we are on the brink of a monumental moment. Our communities share families, students, visitors. We share jobs, businesses, parks. We share the community events that bring us all together. It feels inspiring that Globe and Miami bands have collaborated, embracing a new tradition, setting aside an ancient tradition of fierce rivalry.

This is progress! I grew up in Miami, my mother grew up in Miami, my grandmother grew up in Miami. My great-grandparents, moved from Juarez, Mexico to Miami, Arizona around 1900. I have roots there. I visit Miami and contribute to businesses. I have friends who live in Miami. I work and live in Globe. My children attend Globe schools, one having already graduated from Globe High School. I have friends who live in Globe. I have roots here. Our communities are combined in my mind. Separate, but whole. United. I have found I do not need any misplaced loyalty to either town. We are more connected than divided.   And, I have noticed, there seems to be a new understanding of the need of our communities aligning. One town’s success, is the other town’s success. We impact one another with our decisions, good or bad.

This concert of merging minds, and musicians, coupled with hard work, and passion is a joy. In my mind I begin to see this event as a catalyst for change. I see future events between towns and schools. Art shows, perhaps even class credit exchanges between high schools, especially if there is a lack of a qualified teacher at either school. For all I know this could already be happening, so if it is, leave a comment. I also start dreaming of one of those miles long antique/yard sales, that runs from the west of Miami to the east of Globe. I have a keen sense of visualization, and I can see the treasure I find at this collaborative sale. A rhinestone broach, a piece of American pottery, a book of botanical prints, and maybe even an old watering can. I smile at the image and bring myself back to the moment.

Seats are filling up. I feel so grateful I did not fall into the temptation to just collapse after work. I am glad I am here with my daughter. I want her to be inspired by these young musicians and this event. Looking around, I realize I hope everyone is inspired tonight. And in my usual visualizing mind I begin to see global change brought on by tonight’s concert. If Globe and Miami schools can come together in a celebration of music performed by their students, then who knows, maybe the animosity held by towns, cities, countries, and lands across the world will dissipate into oblivion. It could happen. You never know where critical mass may begin. It could begin here. Or should I say, it is beginning.

Nolan Frost, Miami High School Band and Choir director, and Richard Franco, Globe High School Band director, each told their own story of inspired and dedicated students, hardworking booster clubs, generous sponsors, and faithful families. Their outpouring of gratitude cheered my heart. And I certainly was not the only person who saw the significance of rivalry transcended. Nolan Frost called music a “thrilling language,” and it is. Music moves. It resonates through us, connecting us. It fuels our moods and desires. Music wraps us up in color and light. We have created, and continue to create original music, instruments, and musical thought. Music is a part of who we are as a species. Brain research indicates that humans may be “hard wired” for music appreciation, and not from just one part of our brain, but from many different areas of the brain. It is a language that doesn’t necessarily need a translation. I can be fully engrossed in the opera, La Traviata, by Giuseppe Verdi, yet I do not speak Italian. I can listen to a piece of music with no words, yet it speaks to me. Music is magic.

Richard Franco expressed much gratitude to the parents and families of his band students. He recognizes their everyday dedication to their children. He stressed the importance of parents in the lives of their children. He understands what it means to be a good parent because his parents are role models. He completely appreciates his parents for his successes. He praised his students for their diligence to playing music at Globe High School. Mr. Paul Allison, president of Globe High Booster Club, was introduced as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Mr. Allison further remarked on this portentous gathering. He also praised the students, and the community support. He also sent out a plea for further support of the schools’ endeavors to continue music education at our districts. He emphasized the value of music to education as a whole.
Ms. Cindy Parravano Globe High School principal spoke also. She likened being a band member to an athlete. She admired the band members’ drive and spoke how they worked as hard as an athlete. Ms. Parravano was funny and entertaining as she spoke, remembered how her siblings practiced band when she was a child. She commented on the importance of our Miami and Globe students working together for this concert.

Mr. Allison introduced the first performer LeeAnna Gourdin, who played a piano solo, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, from Walt Disney’s Lion King. What an appropriate song to begin the Concert. The Globe High School Groovers, played a fun mix of Bob Marley, Step N Wolf, Michael Jackson, Neil Diamond, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, arranged by Richard Franco, who also played the drums. These kids were high energy and seemed to be enjoying themselves which was communicated through their music to the audience. The Miami High School Choir performed next. They were not accompanied by music. They sang Lollipop, and a folk song, The Water is Wide. These young women did a great job singing and I honestly would like to have heard more. I could pick out some very strong voices from the choir. The Miami High School Band played next. They played five beautiful and moving selections. The second piece was called Dance Dirigble by Nolan Frost. The music had an nice exotic feel. Globe High School Band followed with four numbers. The music was well executed and well received. The Globe and Miami Bands combined played , An American Hymntune, by Robert Sheldon. The audience was enthusiastic of each school’s efforts. There were standing ovations, cheers, and ardent applause. The audience went crazy after the last song was played. Standing, clapping, and cheering, the audience was obviously inspired by these performers and their teachers.

The efforts of the band directors, Richard Franco and Nolan Frost need to be commended. Thank you for having inspired foresight for the potential of collaboration and future collaboration between our schools. Kudos to the students and all the people who help in the band enterprises. These undertakings make positive change.

The next day, I asked Mr. Franco and Mr. Nolan if they would give me a few words about the concert. Here are their insightful words. Mr. Franco wrote: “Last night was a culmination of months of work. Looking back on it I would have to say that it was an overwhelming success. The students for both schools prepared extremely well and put together an amazing show. I am grateful for all their hard work and dedication to music. I look forward to working with Miami in the future. It was an awesome and great event for the community.”
Mr Frost wrote: “It is always so exciting when you get a bunch of musicians together. Both music programs are in a rebuilding phase right now, and I think the energy and passion is palpable. Playing with your peers adds something special to what we already love doing. To bring both the communities of Miami and Globe together to celebrate the talent of this generation of young people is long overdue. Wherever you are from, the future of our young people is thrilling and something to be nurtured. As adults we need to be careful not to vicariously live out all of our own passions and prejudice in our young, but allow them to fulfill their own promise.” Mr. Frost went on to state: “I am so proud with what Miami’s Music Program has accomplished this year. We have grown together both as musicians and humans. The love of what we do is infectious and makes teaching for me, a joy! Everyday, we get together first period and wish we could stay in band and choir all day.”
Mr. Franco and the Globe school system has been extremely gracious and generous and I greatly look forward to our continued connection. As a music teacher, I know so very well that success depends strongly on parents, administration and the community. We are ambassadors for our art.
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to perform in your great auditorium. We are looking forward to Globe’s visit to our auditorium next year.”

And I thank you both for giving our communities something to look forward to.

Kudos to those who are gutsy enough to get out there and share a bit of their soul. And kudos to all those that come out to support them.

There is a feeling I get when I have a moment of acute awareness. My breath catches, I tingle, and sometimes I even giggle. Well that is exactly how I felt as I got in my car to leave Vida E Cafe 157 W. Ceder Street, Globe, Az. I had just attended their First Friday Open Mic, and I was a bit jittery from my triple shot latte, which might account for the catchy breath, tingling, and even the giggling. Yet, I knew I was on to a dawning realization of why I so enjoy the open mic events in our community. It is not just those individuals who fearlessly go forward to perform, it not just the delicious coffee and food that I crave, no, it is the fellowship, the camaraderie, it is the love that keeps me coming back. The erasing of imaginary boundaries between young and old, genres, styles, words spoken or sang. On this First Friday, I watched as musicians exchanged ideas, equipment, stories, and a deep appreciation for each others musical endeavors. I watched as family and friends, and musicians and poets not performing came to support the evening’s performers in a delightful attitude of fun. A sense of joy swirled around the room, intermingling with music and the warm reassuring scent of coffee.

Sleep did not come to me easily that night, thanks to my lack of restraint concerning my penchant for lattes, dark and strong, and my usual racing mind. So with sleep eluding me, my thoughts went back to my lingering impressions of the evening. I thought of Mitchell Brown singing and playing harmonica and guitar to the great folk songs of the 1960s. He played Creedance Clearwater Revival’s Have You Ever Seen The Rain, then Jackson Browne’s After The Deluge, and finally People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield. I enjoyed Mitchell’s commentary between songs. He was from that time, singing songs from that time and that experience was evident. He had a wealth of information, and I watched, as young and older musicians came to him after he played to talk to him. There were some technical difficulties in the middle of Mitchell’s first song, a loud pop came from the speaker, and it seemed to be broken. But this did not seem to hinder his playing at all. Jared Spencer, the ever diligent and delightful MC raced home to get his equipment, as did the masterful Jim Vandine. Soon the equipment was switched over and the show went on.

This camaraderie, continued on beyond our local community, to people like, Linda Watson, a poet who resides in Fort Thomas, who came all the way to Globe with a friend to enjoy Vida E’s First Friday. Linda read two poems, A Single Rose, and Darkness. A Single Rose was a beautiful metaphor for the cycle of life. Darkness, was filled with vivid imagery. I so appreciate fellow poets. It is a perk for me to attend these events where poets read. I recalled being impressed by a young man offering his chair to a lady. The place was packed, truly, standing room only. I was struck with just how caring our community is, how eager to help, and appreciative of all the good our community has to offer.

I reflected, as my mind was still reeling, on the other musicians like Chris Mathews, a young musician playing the guitar and harmonica, with a nice wavering voice, reminiscent of the lead singer of the Desaparecidos, Conner Oberst. Chris played two original songs, which were nicely fleshed out. His words held intense imagery, poetry with music. He finished his set with the classic Resolution Road by Bob Dylan. His youthful exuberance made me think of how important it is that our local schools teach music and art. Our community needs to stand behind our schools in finding ways to have music and art education for all grade levels. We need more hot shot music educators like Mr. Franco at Globe High School. So, mindful folks in our community, jump on the bandwagon for music and art education, and let’s give our would be musicians and artists opportunities to develop their talent and skill. And speaking of educators, this leads right to Mr. Adam Creary, a Globe High science teacher, who is also a musician.

I had to chuckle as I thought of Adam. I thoroughly enjoy exchanging ideas with Adam. He makes me laugh, smile, and think. I always felt we held similar philosophies in education. Adam definitely wants to be approachable by his students, knowing that fostering community in the classroom, gives a beneficial boost to what students learn. And here he was at Vida playing with Josh Dobbs, a Globe High School student. I chuckled more as I thought of all the fun Adam and Josh seemed to be having. They power played Bob Dylan’s Knocking On Heaven’s Door, and Eric Clampton’s, I Feel Wonderful Tonight. I was thrilled to watch Josh and Adam and I hope to see them play again in the future.

As I continued to reflect of the events of the evening, I remembered how the place was filled with old friends, and potential new friends. I did take time from my note taking to talk to people. I had the pleasure to meet a very astute eleven year old, Sarah. She certainly had the vocabulary and soul of a poet. We conversed on a variety of subjects. She wanted to read a poem she had written, but it was getting late and she needed to leave. Perhaps she will read to a packed room in a future First Friday.

A young woman, Candice Hainey, accompanied by guitarist Ken Nandez, sang three moving hymns; Revelation Song, You’ll Come, and Hosanna. Her clear voice sang praises that received praise as well. And if my rewind is accurate, Amy Schugar played next. Amy has great stage presence. She involves the audience. Her strong bluesy voice and guitar, lifts everyone around her. She is a professional, and a pleasure to watch. I must of gotten lost in the moment, because my notes are a bit fuzzy as to who she was covering. I do know she sang the beautiful song by Susan Tadishy, Little by Little. I remembered feeling a sense of urgency building around this time. It was drawing near closing, but patrons and performers were holding tight after almost two hours of performances. There was still an eager expectation for more.

And more is what we got! Jim Vandine played next. Wow! Now there is someone who keeps the fellowship and camaraderie alive and well in our communities’ open mics and musical events. Jim attends most all the events. He speaks with everyone. He encourages musicians young and old. His lovely wife Gloria, photographs the performers then shares her pictures with them. They are a tireless dynamic duo for our community. I mused at how long I have listened and watched Jim with a great appreciation for his talent, and I really think it has been at least five years. Jim and Gloria, thank you! Jim sang the blues that night. A departure from his usual classic guitar. He played Albert King, and a great tune by ZZ Tops, Blue Jean Blues. Jim’s fingers worked hard with great effect. I like this new musical diversion.

Well I sucked it up and read next. I have to giggle when I think about reading my poetry. I have a greater empathy for all those that let their feelings of embarrassment go, and get up there and perform. I had fun, and I was glad Jared urged me to read. John Shultz was next. John doesn’t need any urging. It is obvious by listening to him sing his original songs that he is inspired to share his thoughts and talent. John sang, Great Creator, Grandma, and I Didn’t Know You. I was glad to see that John was still in town. He is looking for a home to rent, for himself and family. It is good to have new families moving here that support the fine life experiences that our community offers.

It must be winter, because Earl Knoob is back in town with our very own Copper Spike train. He dropped in to sing Anna on a Memory, All Time Woman, and Moon Glow Highway. Welcome back Earl. It is good to have you in town again. The evening had turned into night, and Jared took the mic as the dedicated Vida workers waited for the finale. Jared has been the perfect host, from rescuing the equipment to keeping the show going seamlessly. Jared has had a busy evening running First Friday, but as usual, he did it with a joke and a smile. Jared closed the evening recounting his 27th birthday experience. It is good to be alive. It was way past closing, so we only got a bit of Jared’s impromptu art of words and music. I was happy as I began to feel sleep encroaching upon me. I was honored to take part in an experience of town fellowship. Our town’s fellowship. A group of people who believe in and support the arts knowing that art is what elevates a town. Positive communal experiences that enrich, making life joyous and fun. Kudos to all those in our community who support the arts and our artists. We are a community that develops many varied artists. I know. I see it in all our schools, around our town, and events like this. The talent and future talent of our communities is something to be noticed. Our future is in our artists and thinkers. Somehow our area has been blessed with an abundance of talented individuals encompassing all means of art and thought. We should recognize this and promote these talents with opportunities for more cottage industries in our towns. Or, industry that need employees who are artists. It is time to think out of the box for our town. Time to recognize that our greatest financial reward for this town is in its people. Oh no! I almost started to get jazzed up again! I took a few meditative breaths reminding myself to never drink more than my share of espresso, ever. But I went to sleep with a smile on my face filled with the joyous togetherness of musicians, poets, and those that came to experience them. As I drifted off to sleep, my heart sang.

Kudos to those who are gutsy enough to get out there and share a bit of their soul. And kudos to all those that come out to support them. Great coffee, company, and fun.
Thanks to the Bakers and the friendly efficient staff of Vida E Cafe for creating a warm environment for these happenings.

Vida E Cafe First Friday Open Mic February Fourth
Jim Coates Picture Mine Cafe Second Friday Open Mic February Eleventh
Vida E Cafe Second Saturday February Twelfth
Does anyone know if the Second Saturday will have a love theme in honor of Valentine’s Day? Leave a comment. Help me promote community events by dishing on what is up and coming.

Hope to see you there!

Gila County property owners received a bit of shock this last week when their property tax bills came in the mail. Due to an error in calculation,  the Globe Unified School District portion of the bill was calculated at $4.88 per $100 of assessed value, or almost double the $2.80%  that it was expected to be.

The Property Tax grew to a monstrous size and caused questions - which led to the discovery of an error

Upset by the large increase, Globe resident Tom Conto called the Globe School District, who was unaware of the error.  “We thank those in the community for alerting us to this problem,” said Globe School District Superintendent Dr. Ron Nelson.

After consulting with the Gila County School Superintendent’s office and the Gila County Treasurer’s office, an emergency meeting was called at the Mofford Center by Globe School Board this morning   to quickly fix the problem. Board members signed a resolution (see below) to request that the Gila County Board of Supervisors recalculate and revise the rate.

Today’s Globe School Board meeting began with a “Truth in Taxation” hearing, where School Superintendent Dr. Ron Nelson explained to the public what had happened.

Globe resident Caryl Fuller asked if they did not need to have a 48 hour notice before this meeting, to which Board Clerk Frankie Dalmolin replied that there only needed to be 24 hour’s notice, which was met.

Board member Jacquie Cline Griffin thanked the public for pointing out the error. “It’s easy to call the media before us, so I thank Tom Conto for coming to us first,” she said.

The normal procedure for calculating the school district’s tax rate starts with the school district, which sends information based on the annual budget as okayed by the Governing Board to the County School Superintendent’s office. The County School Superintendent’s office then passes the information to the County Assessor’s office, and a tax rate is set. After okayed by the County Board of Supervisors, the County Treasurer’s office sends out the bills.

Where things went terribly wrong was when the State of Arizona skipped their payments to school districts this last year, due to their own shortfalls in this economy. By law, the year’s tax rate must be set on the third Monday in August (August 16 this year). When the State skipped six payments this last year, which was expected to be $750,000 each, the shortfall caused the school district rate to come to 4.88%.  On August 16th the County Board of Supervisors approved the rate, and the County Treasurer’s office sent the bills to the printer. Then on August 27th,  payment from the State in the amount of $1.4-million to the Globe School District,  was received at the County Treasurer’s office!  So now the whole process, beginning with the Globe Unified School District, will have to start over to revise the tax rate. All parties hope to present the Board of Supervisors with a new rate to approve at their next meeting, and revised property tax bills can be sent out.

Dr. Nelson points out that there is really nowhere to “put blame” in this error. “Everybody did what they had to do with the information they had at the time,” he said. He also said he was pleased that all entities involved quickly gathered  and worked together to fix the problem, from the public to the school district, County Schools office and Treasurer’s office.

According to Debi Savage, Gila County Treasurer, revised bills  for those in the Globe School District only, will be mailed out  2-4 weeks after the Board of Supervisors okays revision.  Those who have already paid the first half of their bill will have their second payment reduced from the revised amount. Those who paid their bill in full will be issued a refund. Anyone with questions about their bill can call the Gila County Treasurer’s office at 402-8702.

Gila County property owners will still see an increase in their tax bills, as many portions were raised. The largest of these is for Gila County itself, as their tax rate rose from 3.75% last year to 4.19% this year.

The GUSD Board met on Tuesday to discuss Trent's request for retirement, indemnification of possible criminal charges, and to recind 44 days of vacation pay to John Marquez.Shown here: Board President,Cayci Vuksanovich, Members,Anna Harmon & Dale Fletcher. Photo by: LeeAnn Powers

This week, Dr. Timothy Trent  submitted his request for early retirement to the Globe School Board, after spending over a year on home assignment while an audit of financial, procurement and HR records was conducted by Education Review Group.

The results of the audit were posted on local radio station, gila101.9 in March, (and again here – see below).  During the year long process, the School Board studiously refused to discuss the audit or any findings with the public.

The audit was completed in March and it appears that the Board was scheduled to present the findings in a public forum earlier this month when the meeting was canceled at the last minute.

When faced with the option of  reviewing all charges using a mediator or taking early retirement, Trent and his attorney opted to go for early retirement which negated the public airing of charges.

While this closes one chapter of the saga, it does not wipe the slate clean. There is the on going investigation by the state’s attorney general and the lawsuit which has been filed by the couple against the School Board and individual members. All of this serves to keep the results of the audit on the table and promises to air additional grievances on both sides of the table as the legal machinations gear up for yet another chapter.

In Tuesday’s meeting, Trent also requested that the Board pay for his defense in the AG’s investigation, which they roundly denied. It is one thing to indemnify an employee for mistakes or mis-steps they make while discharging their duties, and quite another to indemnify criminal actions. The AGs office does not investigate mis-steps.

The degree to which this whole case has embroiled the parties in legal proceedings, seems excessive when compared to other brouhaha’s regarding dis-enfranchised Superintendents and their School Boards. Take the recent case of a Utah school district where … two of three candidates for Superintendent have backgrounds in which they were placed on leave. One candidate left his former position before his contract expired – “…forgoing any salary or benefits for the remainder of his contract in exchange for the Boards agreement not to fire him and to take a neutral position in discussing his job performance.” Utah’s search for Superintendents.

In that same case, State auditors found “improper and potentially fraudulent payments” totaling more than $88,000 to his buddy, the business manager.  The business manager has reimbursed the district for $55,522 of that amount. No criminal charges were filed. This Superintendent is re-applying to the Utah Board for a position and says his former performance should not impact the Boards decision.

The local case involving Timothy Trent and the Globe School Board involves bigger “improprieties.”

Just consider this from the audit:

An excerpt from the 47 page procurement report “… revealed millions of dollars spent on contractual services for technology services and equipment. Of the services, much of it was illegally paid from the improper accounts. Change orders authorizing extra payments were signed by Dr. Trent, and documentation on several of the agreements were not able to be found. In one instance, the auditors could not find in the school board minutes any authorization for technology services in the amount of $56,910. The auditors suggested in the report that “due to the amount of money GUSD spent and due to violations of procurement and lack of documentation… the Reviewers strongly recommend that an investigative unit of the Auditor General’s office or the Attorney General’s office investigate these expenditures.”

The local case also has more than it’s share of lawsuits flying around. The most recent to be filed is by Trent and Flores against the District and each Board Member.

So, instead of walking away with the salary he has been paid for the last year to be on home assignment  ($100K plus), Trent and local-county-attorney, legal-eagle wife (Daisy Flores), have deemed it necessary to sue the local school District for the audacity of investigating these things and causing ‘them’ distress. Trent’s new job appears to be as victim, and he and Flores, are asking the School District to pay out $2million in damages, including reimbursing the power-couple for a $9000 European vacation which they say was ruined when they discovered the bad news about the home assignment.

Ahh the wheels of justice – how they turn.

Let us know what you think!

********************

For those who want to track the issue, we have provided a time line of events with corresponding documentation.

June 2009: School Board votes in special session to re-assign Dr. Timothy Trent and Supervisor of Facilities, John Marquez to home while an independent audit is performed. Initially thought to be a three month process, the audit took nearly a year during which both men continued to receive their reg. salaries, but were precluded from coming on District grounds.

Nov 2009: Daisy and Trent file a letter of Notice of Intent.   2010_01_07_Trent Complaint

Jan 2010: A class action lawsuit is filed by teachers and administrators alleging that Trent “…engaged in a campaign of harassment, fear and intimidation…”Globe_20091119145048

March 2010: The 90-page Audit report is released to the press. It covers Finance, Procurement and Human Resources. See below:

GUSD Audit Review_Table of Contents

GUSD Audit Review_Finance

GUSD Audit Review_Procurement

GUSD Audt Review_Human Resources Part 1

GUSD Audt Review_Human Resources Part 2

GUSD Audit Review_Human Resources Part 3

GUSD Audit Review_Human Resources Part 4

GUSD Audit Review-Human Resources Part 5

June 28th, 2010 – In a special session, the Globe School Board accepts Dr. Trent’s retirement request.

However, they  deny his request to pay for his defense in the on-going investigation by the State’s Attorney Generals’ office and and to indemnify him against possible charges stemming from this investigation.

A contract to develop a DVD intended to promote the Globe School District was given to Tom Leach, Eyes of a Child, who appears to have sub’d it out to a highschool student and was of such poor quality, the District never used it. This may have just been written up as a lesson in what not to do – had it not been for the fact that Leach was paid $8,450 for the job…and after such a dismal result, still received contracts for his services which amounted to nearly $300,000 over 3 years.

This is just one of many findings by an independent audit review(see below), recently released, involving Globe’s Superintendent of Schools, Timothy Trent and John Marquez, Supervisor of Facilities. Both men had been placed on home assignment last June and not allowed on the GUSD campus, as the School Board brought in independent auditors to look into financial, procurement and human resource records for the period of July 2006 through June 2009.

As you may recall, Timothy Trent was hired as the Superintendent of Globe Unified School District in 2003, and in 2005 married Daisy Flores the Gila County County Attorney. The marriage created a powerful force. One which reportedly contributed to a reticence by those involved to come forward earlier. Flores has adamantly denied any undue influence. It seems though, some still insist that her position as both wife and County Attorney played into their decision not to speak up.

The entire Audit Report may be found on

Bill Taylor’s website: gila101.9.

Some of the summary statements and recommendations found in the report include:

(1) A recommendation, “that because of improprieties of procurement and other possible violations of ARS this should be sent to the Auditor General office and Attorney Generals’ office for investigative review.

(2) A summary statement pertaining to Human Resources, which says, ” Based on conversations with GUSD personnel, the Human Resource Director and documents provided by the District we have determined that an allegedly evasive, widespread and systematic form of harassment and the subsequent creation of a hostile work environment has been prevalent within the GUSD over the past several years.

NOTE: Arizona SilverBelt. reported recently that a class action lawsuit involving several teachers and administrators was filed in Gila County Court in September against Timothy Trent and Daisy Flores.

(3) As a result of Dr. Trent appointing himself as GUSD Business Manager (Chief Financial Officer) on September 24, 2008 and October 8, 2008… and assuming responsibilities for cash management and completion reports…has led to the degrading of the entire GUSD Human Resource, Procurement and Financial Systems.

Without a highly competent business manager who will adhere to USFR and other legal and administrative rules and regulations the District, in our opinion, has either lost or abused many hundred’s of thousands of dollars over a short period of time.

Just recently, Flores’ office sent out a press release (posted on gila101.9) detailing, what they say are corrections to one of the allegations in the Audit: (1) That after her husband Trent requested an early voter list of individuals who voted in the May 2007 override and was denied access by Linda Haught-Ortega, Bryan Chambers and Rob Miller with the County Attorney’s office came to argue the issue in support of release, and when this didn’t result in a release of documents, that she had a visit by Flores herself who concurred with Ortega that the statute precluded the use to which Trent had stated. The press statement issued by Bryan Chambers, argues that Ortega came to him for advice on the matter. Not the other way around. And noted that Rob Miller was not actually on the County Attorney’s payroll at that time (it would be another 2.5 months before he was actually put on the payroll), but it does not deny that Trent requested the documents, nor does it broach the subject of the intent of such a request.

Chamber states that even after being denied access, Trent visited his office to “re-urge” his request. The Audit goes on to say that they were told by the Gila County Recorder she had received calls from teachers that worked for the District asking “if Dr. Trent could find out how they voted?” She said they called her office “in fear that Dr. Trent could tell how they voted.” Others at the District office voiced the same concern to our consultants.

Perhaps, in addition to counseling the County Recorder on her right to withhold records, Flores might also have counseled her husband on the efficacy of his request in the first place.

The Audit goes on to outline other connections with the County Attorney’s office, backed up by the recent press release :

Rob Thompson, who you’ll recall from the latest press release by the County Attorney’s office, worked 19 hours as a part time Deputy Gila County Attorney from August of ’07 to February of ’08, and then turned up at Globe Unified School District as the Assistant Principal at the High School with a salary of $67,000 although he did not hold an Arizona Administrative Certificate. Miller went on to actually received a total of $129,431.99 during one and a half year period – mostly from consulting to the District.

When Liz Atilano informed Dr. Trent that Rob Thompson did not hold an administrator certificate, Trent told her to just put his position down as Dean of Students.

Another favorite son of both the CA’s office and the District, appears to have been Timothy Leach who operated under his own name, and his business known as “From the Eyes of  a Child” and a business known as ” Through the Eyes of a Child.” Leach had originally been an employee of the District in ’05, but resigned in October of ’05 and reappeared as an independent contractor in January of ’06. Leach was paid a total of $293,357.07 by the District over 3 years. He also worked for the County Attorney’s office according to the Board of Supervisor’s minutes.

During his stint at GUSD, he was paid $8,450 to produce a DVD which Leach said said he was well qualified to produce, having done so for another client. However, it seems he passed the work off, as he confirms in the audit, the DVD was “100% done by a high school senior” and despite such a large investment by the District, not one copy was ever published or put on the website. Nor was it easy to find any copies. The reviewers did finally track down one copy and their report states ” the poor quality of the DVD would indicate it was not used.”

Leach won the contract to do this DVD in a bid process which included a bid by now acting CPA Dean, Tamara Gilinski who says she has only bid on one contract with the District (an AIMS contract), so how her name and bid appeared on the DVD ( TamaraGalinskiDVD ) is….well, a mystery at this point. (Her name shows up as a bidder on other Leach contracts, alas to no avail. Leach goes on to win each contract, even after he turns in one bid past the 5pm cut off.)

In another PO for $28,600, Dr. Trent directed a GUSD employee to advertise the RFP in the Payson paper – not one of general circulation in the area. The published dates of the RFP were within 5 days of each other, failing to meet the minimum standard of 14 days to allow bidders sufficient time to participate. Low and Behold, there was only one proposal for this contract, that being From the Eyes of a Child and the Board approved RFP 29-23-13 with a cap of $75,000. Tom Leach was paid 75,000 under this RFP “without any paramenters. Invoices did not reflect days or hours worked.”

Jason Williams, Democratic candidate running for State School Superintendent was in Globe Wednesday night to speak to a gathering of concerned parents and citizens who came to hear his vision for fixing the State's Education system. Tom Horn, current Superintendent is stepping down in 2010 after an 8 year tenure

Jason Williams, a Democrat running for State Superintendent of Schools was in Globe last night to talk to a group of concerned citizens and parents about his vision for the State’s educational woes.

Williams, who ran against Tom Horn in 2006, wants to shift the emphasis back onto public schools and do more to engage kids and address the issues in the public sector to raise the bar. Under the guidance of Tom Horn who has held the seat since 2002, the State greatly increased Charter schools (now at 453) and in a recent report put out by Stanford University the results  out from Charter schools appear disappointing.

“While the report recognized a robust national demand for more charter schools from parents and
local communities, it found that 17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were
significantly better than traditional public schools, while 37 percent of charter schools showed
gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter
schools demonstrating no significant difference”

Arizona has the dubious honor of being one of the worst states in the country when it comes to education. (see: Smartest State) To overlook the impact this has when trying to attract business and industry to fuel our economy is to miss the mark entirely. It is not enough to reduce business taxes. If business owners look at the schools here in Arizona and decide neither they, nor their employees, want their kids going to them , and if industry can’t find enough qualified, educated workforce to do the job, then Arizona will continue to struggle to have jobs and economic prosperity. It is critical to our livelihood- not to mention just caring about kids futures- that the State find a way to be better than Dead Last in this area.

Williams thinks he has a few ideas on how to get there.

He recently responded to Governor Jan Brewer’s address:

Phoenix, Ariz. – Jason Williams, Democratic Candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, released the following statement in response to Governor Jan Brewer’s State of the State address Monday:

“This week, many Arizonans listened to Governor Jan Brewer’s State of the State speech, anticipating hearing how she was going to move the state forward.  Instead, we were treated to a campaign speech, demonstrating yet again the lack of true leadership at the Capitol.  As an educator, I listened intently for substantive ideas on how to reverse Arizona’s dropout rate, increase early literacy, and have real accountability for our public schools.  I am going to be honest.  I was surprised by what I heard.

“I am sure that many of you were also surprised, perhaps by the contradiction of calling for increased accountability from the public schools while simultaneously dumbing-down our educational accountability system.  I was surprised for a different reason, though.  Governor Brewer actually proposed two things with which I not only agree, but that I campaigned on in 2006:  ending promotion for students who are unable to read at a gateway year and having a comprehensive data system that allows all Arizonans to access information on how schools are doing.

“But we are no longer in 2006, and those ideas are no longer new suggestions.  They have instead become generally understood best practices in education.  But rather than implementing them while she has been in office or while her party has had power, the Republican leadership is still just talking about them.  It is time for true leadership.  It is time for the best practices to be implemented in Arizona’s public schools.

“We are indeed in a tremendous fiscal crisis, and I fully understand the challenges that are associated with trying to make ends meet.  However, as a state, we have to face the reality that we either invest in our students now or we will have to make an even greater payment down the road in terms of dropouts, prisoners, and an underprepared workforce.  Education has always been the foundation for a strong society.  I thank Governor Brewer for recognizing some changes that must be made to make Arizona’s schools an example of excellence.  But I am tired of hearing things suggested and never enacted.  We need real educational leadership and real accountability.  I look forward to bringing those values to the public school system as the next Superintendent of Public Instruction.”

# # #

To learn more about Jason Williams, visit www.WilliamsForArizona.com

By: Linda Gross

The recent complaint letter by Dr. Timothy Trent directed at GUSD’s School Board is accusing them of, among other things damaging an otherwise exemplary reputation when they removed him to home rule to conduct an audit into both financial and personnel matters. The results of the audit being conducted by the Board  are due out this month, but a recent 90-day letter to the District from the State Auditor General seems to point out several deficiencies in managing the District’s money as well as tracking student attendance. It was was simply the latest in a series of letters from the State identifying “deficiencies” – all under the watch of Superintendent T. Trent. In addition, it might be pointed out that he was sued by a teacher while he was a Principle at Kyrene Elementary before coming to Globe (as reported by the East Valley Tribune) …and for some of the same kinds of actions he is currently accused of in the class action suit filed recently in Gila County.  It seems his “exemplary” career may have just a few smudges.

Still, the complaint- respectfully submitted on Trent’s behalf says, “…as a result of the District’s actions, Dr. Trent and Ms. Flores would be willing to settle this mater for a total of $2,409,642.50. ” There is the usual compensatory damages, attorney fees etc in this complaint….as well as asking for the $9000 spent by the couple on their European vacation. Ahhh… the wheels of justice.

2010_01_07_Trent Complaint

The recent letter from the State Auditor General’s office dated Dec 15th refers to “significant deficiencies in internal controls that indicate the District has not complied with USFR (Uniform System of Financial Records) for the school year ending June 2008.  GlobeUSD_12-09(2)

The School Board consisting of Jacque Cline Griffin,Frankie Dalmolin, Cayci Vucksanovich, Anna Harmon and Dale Fletcher discuss the presentation by Nelson *The State has given the District 90 days (counting down from Dec 15th...so we're now at about 60 days) to correct the issues before an on-site visit by State officials.

In the letter, the State outlines multiple issues with procurement and tracking student attendance. Nelson explained that in 2004 the District also received a 90-day letter outlining similar problems and that those problems were addressed with a “bandaid”. Additional letters from the State which cited problems with improperly tracking assets, ordering goods and services without purchase orders, and mis-reporting student attendance have further been addressed with stop-gap measures which failed to be internalized by the overall District.

“The time for band-aide solutions is over,” says Nelson. If the District doesn’t identify, institute and carry out significant changes in its purchasing and personnel record-keeping they will be flirting with the very real possibility of being taken over by the State.

It appears the District has been over inflating attendance figures for some time. That means they have received more money from the State than was due to the District. “Someone is going to want some money back.” says Nelson.

Dr. Ron Nelson, Chief Administrative Officer for GUSD, addresses the Board on Wednesday night regarding the most recent 90-Day letter from the State Auditor General. It pertains to the school year ending June 2008, and cites deficiencies in both procurement and personnel records.

Nelson spent a a good deal of time at the podium answering questions by the Board and talking about examples. IE: If you are going on a trip, you can’t just run in and pull $800 from the revolving fund. When we send teachers and administrators on trips we will know in advance what the rooms and conference costs will be. We will beable to send a check with them and they can pay for it when they check in.”

Board President, Cayci Vuksanovich acknowledged the problems which Nelson identified and said “…other schools have managed to work with these guidelines successfully. So there is no reason why we shouldn’t beable to as well.”

*

The current lawsuit involves both former and current employees of GUSD and accuses Trent of , among other things,

1:Having a “policy strictly forbidding GUSD employees to speak with GUSD Board members about issues related to their employment or GUSD’s business.”

2: Keeping a list of  people he did not like, which he shared with Kinnard, and targeted them for harassment, mistreatment, forced resignations, or humiliation.

It goes on to state, “Trent’s actions were outwardly aggravated, outrageous, malicious, or fraudulent and guided by an evil mind.

Globe_20091119145048 Class Action Suit/ Details