Gilbert Public Schools Gifted Classroom at Pioneer Elementary School

The Governing Board of Gilbert Public Schools has been considering parents' requests for a self-contained classroom for gifted students at the elementary level.  Parents have expressed concern about the district's programs available for twice exceptional students.  At the May 15, 2012 board meeting, amended agenda item 8.01 was "Decision Regarding Placement of a Gifted Program at Pioneer Elementary School for the 2012-2013 School Year."  The video below shows an image of each speaker matched to the audio recording from the meeting.  A partial transcript appears below the video segment, along with press reports of the previous board meeting when this subject was discussed. 

We follow up with information showing how the administration easily could fund this project by ending the present reliance on tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars spent on legal fees that do nothing to benefit students.

0:25 Lily Tram: How are we going to cover the cost? {If we don't have override funds} Are we going to cut regular teachers? Or gifted teachers?

1:15 Staci Burk: {Looks at funds from the $8.2 Million per year technology override (total of $57.4 Million) authorized by voters in 2007}  $2,579 per student over a 7 year period available for technology. 

NOTE: The board members are looking at a proposal that was not displayed to the audience, so we don't really know what the board members are talking about in terms of revised costs for the self-contained gifted classroom at Pioneer Elementary School.  It is apparent from remarks by Assistant Superintendent Barb VeNard that as head of curriculum, she does not want to go through with this project for the upcoming school year.

4:29 Helen Hollands: The board needs to be on the Strategic Plan and World Class curriculum. {Characterizes proposal before her as "Firing before we aimed."}  I don't support any of the bullets below that. But I certainly support moving forward with the vision committee.

5:00 Staci Burk: Would providing this opportunity meet statutory requirements for twice exceptional students and alleviate potential liability?

6:40 E.J.Anderson: It is important to do it well {Lists reasons it might be too late in this school year.}

8:30 Staci Burk: Moves that the administration make a decision regarding the placement of a self-contained gifted classroom at Pioneer Elementary School for the 2012-2013 school year.

9:20 Helen Hollands: What was the purpose of the motion?

Staci Burk: {Modified for the administration to make the decision.}

9:50 Helen Hollands: I find it so ironic it's on our level because of a certain board member's desires to have it at our level, which is now flipped to putting it back on the administration, where it belongs.

Staci Burk: That's right, because that's what you said...

Helen Hollands: We don't do any action because that's where it resides, at the administration level.

Staci Burk: I guess my reasoning was, at the last meeting when you made the argument that this really was an administrative decision, I thought about it and I agreed.

Motion proceeds to a vote. Lily Tram votes Nay. Helen Hollands speaks about her decision to approve this motion. The vote is 4-1, with Tram opposing.

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We know that the administration has estimated the cost of a self-contained gifted classroom at $85,000 for the 2012-2013 school year.

It would cost the district an estimated $84,300 to create a self-contained classroom, including $50,000 for a teacher, $13,800 for technology and $7,000 each for curriculum and assessment development and textbooks/resources. The remaining $6,500 would be used for supplemental resources, said Barb VeNard, assistant superintendent of educational services.

Board member Staci Burk and board president E.J. Anderson both said Tuesday they would like to see the self-contained class start in the fall. Burk argued that the board gave direction last summer to move forward on a self-contained program, and she doesn't want to wait another year to start it. "I'm concerned parents will look elsewhere" for gifted programs, Burk said.

Board member Helen Hollands and board clerk Lily Tram said they want to start the program, but only if the money and resources are available and administration feels the time is right.

UPDATE:  Here's what Assistant Superintendent VeNard presented to the board but not to citizens (thank you, East Valley Tribune). The costs are slightly different than in April, as reported above:

In her report to the governing board on Tuesday, VeNard presented a possible five-year financial scenario of putting together an enhanced gifted program in the district. It included:

• $60,000 for one teacher per grade level to fund salary and benefits, (starting with third grade and adding a grade each year)

• $13,500 for curriculum and assessment development and supplemental resources for the first few years as the program develops

• $7,000 for textbooks and resources once students are added

• $13,800 for technology to provide one laptop computer per four students plus a document camera, projector and laptop for each classroom (one at a time as the program grows)

At the May 1, 2012 board meeting, Superintendent Dave Allison made a lengthy presentation about how Gilbert Public Schools had made cuts in expenditures since the budget crisis of 2009.  Based on past budget cutting actions, is it possible for the GPS administration to find funds for this project?

It's elementary, in our view.  Gilbert Public Schools could fund many initiatives that directly affect the best interests of students by doing the jobs they were hired to do.  Without an army of lawyers at the beck and call of "The Superintendency" to advise them on how to evade and avoid the letter and spirit of state and federal laws, there would be an enormous amount of money available for a self-contained gifted classroom and many other educational projects.

Keep in mind that GPS paid a consultant $100,000.00 for a "Strategic Plan" while the administration was cutting teacher and staff positions. Also consider that Gilbert Public Schools paid $74,240.00 for pre-paid legal fees for the 2011-2012 school year.  It appears that GPS pays a similar amount each year, which seems to have become a perpetual source of funds for two law firms that provide legal advice to the district: Udall, Shumway & Lyons and Holm Wright Hyde & Hays. 

Using the figures in the Arizona Republic article above, it appears that there is more than enough money in the Pre-Paid Legal Program ALONE to fund a self-contained gifted classroom (funds for technology, curriculum development and supplemental resources would not be needed each year).

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An additional litigation budget lavished on Holm Wright Hyde & Hays involved Gibert Public Schools' lawsuit against a software contractor, CrossPointe, LLC. An email from Assistant Superntendent Clyde Dangerfield, Esq. explains how the district uses both an hourly fee billing arrangement and a contingency fee arrangement in the litigation the district has brought against contractor CrossPointe LLC:

1) The actual law suit against CrossPointe for breach of contract and fraud has been going on for more than a year and Brad Holm has actually been working on the dispute for over two years. During that time the District has had a contractual relationship based on hourly fees and the firm has been paid for their work to date approximately $75,000. The Judge has ruled against CrossPointe regarding their motion to dismiss on the contract claim and Brad has filed an amended claim regarding the fraud. It has been determined that a contingency arrangement with Brad Holm is in the best interest of the District going forward. When and if a settlement is reached or the District wins at trial, Brad's firm will be entitled to 1/3 of the amount recovered less the $75,000 paid to date. ...

5) The original hourly contract fees are $195 per hour for partners, $170 per hour for associates, $100 per hour for law clerks and $85 for paralegals.

In other words, attorney Brad Holm of the firm Holm Wright Hyde & Hays appears to have the best of all worlds -- legal fees for two years of work followed by a contingency fee agreement for 1/3 of the district's winnings (if the district wins). Notice that "the $75,000 paid to date" is more than what the district paid for the 2011-2012 school year in pre-paid legal fees. It's enough to fund a self-contained gifted class at Pioneer Elementary School.

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Gilbert Public Schools has become dependent on hiring lawyers to do the jobs that should be done by top level administrators (in the case of the Strategic Plan, GPS hired a consultant rather than a lawyer).  The Superintendent and/or the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources determine when to call on their favored law firms for services the district should perform in-house. By hiding these legal fees in "The Trust," a self-funded insurance consortium of which Assistant Superintendent Clyde Dangerfield is Board President, the district hides outrageous expenditures from public review by taxpayers. The extent to which top level administrators derive personal satisfaction and/or illicit gains in return for these legal fees cannot be known. However, the experience of school districts in the North Valley demonstrate the extent to which public money can be misused by these trusts:

• From September 2005 to September 2010, more than $400,000 was charged through Valley Schools Management Group credit cards by Valley Schools board members and employees, including purchases of extensive travel and dining.

• Valley Schools spent at least $46,780 for Diamondbacks tickets.

• Valley Schools spent $57,878 on golf resorts and memberships (separate from golf tournaments) and $7,098 at the PGA Tour Superstore.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office raided offices of Valley School District leaders and leaders of the Valley Schools Management Group. The affidavit for a search warrant itemized lavish spending by several board members, including more than 3,000 credit-card charges, including $150 at the Sunglass Hut in Laughlin, Nev., $2,500 for Starbucks gift cards and $4,422 for a meal at Villa Florence hotel in San Francisco.

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We estimated the following costs for legal services in 2011 and 2012 related to the district's attempt to fire a National Board Certified Teacher who reported bullying and racial discrimination:

These figures are based on legal fees the Peoria USD is paying directly to attorneys with taxpayer funds. The Peoria school board had ample opportunity to come to an amicable agreement rather than fire a teacher and litigate. Instead, with advice of counsel Mary Ellen Simonson of the law firm Lewis and Roca, the board opposed Tim McKee at every step, running up massive legal fees for firing a teacher unfairly. Now, two years later, litigation continues. We obtained copies of the legal invoices from the law firm Lewis and Roca and posted them online.