The Symington administration touts market-based reform as a cure for Arizona's educational ills. Behind that rhetoric, state policies are driving public schools toward financial collapse.
The Mesa Unified School District plans to lay off 210 teachers today.
The cuts do not include personnel with one-year contracts who may not
be hired back anyway. A district spokesperson says the cuts will save
the school district "30 to 60 million dolllars"...Rawhide Western Town will get new management on June 1, as two companies called Western Destinations and AZ Banquet and Events take the reigns from Starwood Hotels and Resorts...The Peoria Police Department has installed a new safety device
SLIPSHOD BACKROUND CHEDKS, SCHOOL BOARDS THAT CUT DEALS, AND COLLEAGUES WHO PROTECT THEIR OWN. WHEN IT COMES TO TEACHERS WHO MOLEST, THE BIG PICTURE ISN'T PRETTY.
Border Patrol agents seized nearly 1200 pounds of marijuana from a truck near Yuma. Agents say they spotted the vehicle using night vision equipment, and used deflation devices to cripple the truck's tires. The driver and passenger fled on foot, leaving behind their haul, which has an estimated street value of almost a million dollars...A man is dead and his son is in critical condition after their small plane crashed in the mountains south of Flagstaff. A Coconino County Sheriff's spokesman
Nearly 20,000 workers at Valley Fry's and Safeway grocery stores could go on strike if a contract deal between the companies and workers' union is not reached by 6 p.m. next Friday. Spokesmen for the grocery chains say the companies have tried to negotiate a fair deal, and plan to hire temporary workers if there's a strike...The Mesa Unified School District is considering closing Powell Junior High School to make room for a community center. Ninth graders would be moved to three high schools
