First Term Accomplishments

The past four years have been transformative for our district. I’m proud to serve and represent our community on the TUSD Governing Board.  I’m proud of the many amazing accomplishments I’ve help lead as a member of the Board, from initiatives that have led to improved student growth, to supporting our educators and building trust from our community.

My most consequential first-term accomplishment was during my year as Board President in 2023. I helped garner a 5-0 unanimous vote from our Governing Board to support going to the voters for a Bond election. We had broad support from community leaders, including the business community, labor unions, and elected officials. And you, our amazing Tucson community, passed the Bond for the first time in a generation, with nearly 60% in support! 

The $480m over the next decade coming to our district for infrastructure, building improvements, transportation equipment, and technology, will transform the district, improving safety and security, comfort, aesthetics, and functionality of our 88 campuses, benefiting students, teachers and staff, and the Tucson community.

While there is so much work still to do, I’m excited that TUSD students have shown phenomenal growth year after year. During my first term, I helped ensure TUSD focused on evidence-based interventions for student achievement, and using our resources – including ESSER (Covid Relief), Title I funds, and Desegregation funds – on direct student services and interventions. 

I led our district to create the Budget Advisory Committee, which reviews evidence on topics such classroom sizes and literacy programs. I also helped create the Substance Use Task Force to make evidence-based recommendations on how to use court settlement funds from TUSD’s lawsuit against Juul to best improve mental health outcomes for students. I made sure that the district prioritized positions after ESSER (Covid Relief) funds expired that had the greatest impact on student achievement, and advocated for the district to use evidence to keep students safe in schools. 

Another great accomplishment included TUSD expanding our teaching staff of reading and math interventionists and coordinators, and teachers training and supporting other teachers. As a result, school letter grades have improved in every region of TUSD. Today, over half of TUSD schools are rated A and B, and 80% A, B, and C rated. For the first time in a generation, TUSD has no F rated schools.

I know that our teachers’ working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. Supporting teachers and staff throughout our district has been a major priority during my first term.

TUSD has substantially increased pay for teachers and staff. Every year we’ve increased salary for teachers. We led our region in a minimum wage increase, which now stands at $15.50. We supplemented pay for all staff with $8500 in stipends over 2 years. We boosted pay for hard to fill positions such as nurses, ex ed (special education) teachers and teacher assistants, and bus drivers. And we stopped all increases to health insurance premiums for staff.

During my first term, TUSD listened to teachers, staff, and administrators and prioritized creating a new Code of Conduct. We also incorporated front-line staff on important decisions, and I successfully created a Health Care Task Force in conjunction with our unions to have voices at the table when looking at how to provide better health care for our employees.

All these changes require money and resources. I used my background as a non-profit business leader and my U of A Eller MBA which focused on financial accounting to ensure TUSD had the strongest financial leadership possible. 

As a result of focusing spending on students and schools, TUSD's administrative spending has gone from 11% at its peak a few years ago to nearly 8%, the lowest in Pima County.

And thanks to my leadership, every major decision with financial implications TUSD makes looks at a 5-year projection so that TUSD administrators and the Governing Board know the long-term financial implications, positive and negative, of these decisions. 

As a parent watching my own kids learn a new song on the piano or score a goal in soccer, I know how important arts, music, and sports are for their growth and development. I believe every TUSD student should have access to these programs and worked with our TUSD leadership to expand art and music education throughout our district. As a result, every school in TUSD has an art and/or music teachers regularly. We also increased funding for interscholastic equipment and facilities so more students can access physical activities.

As a family physician, I know how important it is that students’ mental health is addressed before our students are ready to learn and grow. I succeeded in expanding counselor and social work positions and improving pay for health care team members working in TUSD. When TUSD received nearly $10m from a settlement with Juul and Altria (makers of vaping products) for the harms these products cause in terms of behavioral and academic issues, I led our district in ensuring the funds went directly into addressing additional and mental health for our students.

During my first term, I have led to ensure our district follows data and facts when making decisions, and puts the needs of students – regardless of their background – first. I have always stood firm against those who want to ban books they object to, focus on conspiracy theories not based on science, or attack minority students (including LGBTQ+ students).