At a March 5 public community impact hearing held at Central High School and hosted by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, dozens of Arizona residents spoke about how firings at the federal level and Department of Government Efficiency funding cuts had negatively impacted their lives. One such resident was Osborn School District superintendent Michael Robert, who was joined by Osborn district governing board members and a district teacher.
“I’m here to talk about the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program, which is something that we are involved in; well, we were involved in until a couple of weeks ago,” Robert told the AGs assembled. “The goal of this grant is to ensure that every student, regardless of their background or ZIP code, has access to an excellent education.
“For us at Osborn, it means something profound, putting our students first. One of the key elements of this grant is the role of Master Teachers, instructional coaches who work with teachers to provide weekly professional development, classroom observations and critical feedback. These coaches are instrumental in helping our teachers refine skills, especially our newer teachers, and to field test research-based instructional strategies rolled out across the entire campus. Additionally, mentor teachers lead grade level teams and help their peers through coaching, fostering collaboration and the sharing of best practices.”
The $3 million, three-year program was funded by a grant from the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching. Three other Arizona school districts were awarded similar grants and on Feb. 18, the grant was terminated, effective immediately, by the Department of Education with a year and a half of funding still outstanding in Osborn alone.
“Citing diversity, equity and inclusion, the letter claimed that our grant was inconsistent with the federal priorities around DEI,” Robert told the group. “What is concerning is that there was no specific mention or evidence in the letter as to how our grant promoted DEI over merit. The focus of this grant has always been on excellence in education, performance-based compensation and student achievement. As a result of this cancellation, Osborn is now facing a significant loss.”
After the meeting, Robert further broke down how its loss would impact the district, which consists of six schools, employs 350 staff and educates 2,500 students.
“There are five-and-a-half teaching positions and one administrative position that are written into that grant,” Robert said. “We’ve looked at all of our other funding sources and were able to move one-and-a-half teaching positions into other sources, but there are four teaching positions and the one administrative position that we did have a reduction in force at our last board meeting. In terms of this year, we are paying the contracts for all of those teachers,” he added.
As moves are made at the federal level to reduce or even shut down the Department of Education, which would require congressional approval, Robert contemplated what that would mean to local school districts.
“We are dependent on the federal government for some funding, but the majority of our funding is state and local funds. But elimination of the Department of Education speaks to what our national priorities are. They manage federal funding and support, provide assistance to public schools, things like Title 1 and different title grants. They may move some of the funding to other departments, but there are no specifics as to how that would be handled.
“The department bridges gaps in opportunities and ensures that underrepresented and disadvantaged communities have access to quality education. The department sets the standard for supporting states and local governments in terms of creating curriculum. It is robust in their research and compilation of data on education that helps policymakers make informed decisions about educational funding and about areas that need improvement. The department oversees services for students with disabilities, making sure that they get support and accommodations through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
“There’s a thought process that the Department of Education was just created in 1979, so we did this before, right, but we recognized in a bipartisan manner and supported a department that oversees different aspects of education necessary for local public schools to provide the free and appropriate public education that all students are entitled to.”
On the heels of our conversation with Robert, at a March 20 press conference where he signed an executive order aimed at “taking all lawful steps to shut down the department,” Trump indicated that department staff had already been cut in half but that Pell Grants, Title I and IDEA would be preserved and redistributed. He concluded his remarks by saying, “We’re going to be returning education back to the states where it belongs.”
But, according to Robert, “Saying that dismantling the Department of Education is granting the power of education back to states…states and local school districts already have that. We already adopt our own curriculum within our local school district. That’s not even done at the state level. We need the assurances of the educational opportunities that the federal department is able to step in and provide through the Title 1 funding, through that IDEA funding. We’re not looking for the federal government to regrant us control of education – we’ve already got that.”
Unfortunately, Arizona is already one of the lowest-funded states in terms of education, Robert says, and as the state legislature works on their budget, he wants them to recognize that adequate funding will allow for better learning resources for kids, for access to quality teachers, for smaller class sizes and for improving student outcomes.
“Investing in education could close the educational gaps,” Robert said. “What they are able to allocate towards education definitely has an impact on our economy. Education is the cornerstone of economic development. We’re able to provide students with the skills needed for those jobs that are out there. We create the strong workforce that is able to attract business and industry, which promotes long-term economic growth for the state of Arizona. I know that is definitely a priority across party lines.”
While the details of how the executive order will be carried out, Robert wants to assure the community that the district will continue to provide a high level of education.
“The community within Osborn is intensely supportive of our district,” he said. “Over the past eight years, we’ve passed six bond and override measures, none of them having less than 70 percent support from our voters. Our community has stepped up for our students and for themselves because these are their neighborhood schools. We are good stewards of what they have provided for us and we are able to maintain a very high quality of education because of the amazing staff that we have and also through good fiscal management.”
