Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
NOTE: This is a petition only. We are NOT raising funds.
- Representatives Chaplik, Kolodin and Hoffman,
Your continued attacks on Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel, are unacceptable. The vast majority of the community supports Dr. Menzel. We are aware of his 2019 comments and fully understand their true meaning. He was referencing the problematic part of white identity behind the most horrific parts of this country's history such has hundreds of years of slavery, genocide of indigenous people, Jim Crow, redlining and more. Do you dispute this is part of our history?
He was NOT saying white people are problematic. That facile and inflammatory interpretation makes for a soundbite on Fox News, but twists his words. You are fostering chaos in our community with your promotion of a nonexistent culture war. We will continue to support Dr. Menzel and his work improving our district and educational outcomes for all of our students. Our students are the priority, something you have ignored with your manufactured crisis.
A politically diverse board composed of three Republicans and two Democrats committed to addressing long-standing inequities in our district voted unanimously to hire Dr. Menzel. It was not a "liberal" board as Tom Horne said. Not until this national push to take over school boards, promoted by Steve Bannon, has there been an issue with Dr. Menzel. He has worked tirelessly to give voices to parents, students and teachers under the most challenging circumstances.
SUSD has had five superintendents in ten years, including Denise Birdwell, who came from Rep. Hoffman's Higley School District. She was a disaster. Board members like Pam Kirby ignored the concerns of parents and community members. Her failure to listen resulted in Birdwell's eventual removal; however, it was only because Kirby could no longer ignore our concerns. Birdwell was indicted on 18 felony counts related to financial fraud, rigging bids and taking payoffs during her tenure in Higley USD and SUSD (https://www.azag.gov/sites/default/files/docs/press-releases/2021/indictments/HUSD%20INDICTMENT.pdf). She was pushed on SUSD by parents and community members who wanted a more "conservative" superintendent. Former Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane said Birdwell was the best superintendent SUSD ever had. Oh, the irony... Clearly, being a liberal or conservative should not be the metric used to select the best superintendent. We don't need more upheaval. We need consistency and longevity. Let Dr. Menzel do his job.
As legislators you have overstepped your authority as you continue to attack Dr. Menzel. Stop listening to the detractors while ignoring us, his supporters - YOUR constituents. We know your agenda, and we wholeheartedly reject it. You’re dragging Scottsdale into a fight that’s happening all over this country to malign those who are bold enough to address long-standing issues in our communities which show up in our schools in the form of: unequal opportunities, disproportionately harsh discipline for Black, Latino, indigenous, and special education students, and a curricula that doesn’t adequately reflect the diversity and complexity of our world. We don't want anyone to feel responsible, but understand that discomfort is expected when dealing with painful history.
We will continue to push back against your legislative overstep. You were elected to fix problems such as our lack of water crisis, housing crisis, mental health crisis, and more. Do the jobs for which you were elected.
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Updates
Reached 500 supporters
March 10, 2023
March 10, 2023
I am currently drafting a formal letter to Representatives Chaplik, Kolodin, and Hoffman to outline the community consensus regarding Dr. Menzel. This document will be delivered to their offices by the end of the week to ensure our position is on the public record.
Reached 100 supporters
March 8, 2023
157 Comments
As a retired teacher, I object to our state elected officials trying to interfere with SUSD School Board decisions regarding Dr. Menzel. He has done nothing to violate his contract and should not be fired.
My granddaughter who is biracial attends Desert Canyon Elementary School. My daughter and I support Dr Menzel. We do not want our state representative’s with their twisted views of inclusion speaking for us. Shame!
I support Dr. Menzel. I attended the Feb. Gov Bd meeting when numerous, the far majority of citizens who attended the meeting, spoke in strong support of Dr. Menzel. It is very troubling to see these political groups try to overpower the will of our SUSD populace.
As a parent of three children who have gone through the SUSD schools and an educator, who has spent more than 20 years as an SUSD teacher, I support Dr Menzel We have gone through so much turmoil in this district and it is nice to finally have a superintendent who supports not only the community, but the educators as well
As an SUSD parent who had 3 children through the district I am so grateful for Dr Menzel’s leadership and guidance. I was a witness to the nightmare that was Denise Birdwell and Pam Kirby. Our schools were suffering.
There is no room for local legislators to get involved, let alone out of state politics. This should be dealt locally in a fair and transparent method. Thank you.
He is so professional and a great school administrator!
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Status: Closed — this petition is no longer accepting signatures.
Final supporters
NOTE: This is a petition only. We are NOT raising funds.
- Representatives Chaplik, Kolodin and Hoffman,
Your continued attacks on Scottsdale Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel, are unacceptable. The vast majority of the community supports Dr. Menzel. We are aware of his 2019 comments and fully understand their true meaning. He was referencing the problematic part of white identity behind the most horrific parts of this country's history such has hundreds of years of slavery, genocide of indigenous people, Jim Crow, redlining and more. Do you dispute this is part of our history?
He was NOT saying white people are problematic. That facile and inflammatory interpretation makes for a soundbite on Fox News, but twists his words. You are fostering chaos in our community with your promotion of a nonexistent culture war. We will continue to support Dr. Menzel and his work improving our district and educational outcomes for all of our students. Our students are the priority, something you have ignored with your manufactured crisis.
A politically diverse board composed of three Republicans and two Democrats committed to addressing long-standing inequities in our district voted unanimously to hire Dr. Menzel. It was not a "liberal" board as Tom Horne said. Not until this national push to take over school boards, promoted by Steve Bannon, has there been an issue with Dr. Menzel. He has worked tirelessly to give voices to parents, students and teachers under the most challenging circumstances.
SUSD has had five superintendents in ten years, including Denise Birdwell, who came from Rep. Hoffman's Higley School District. She was a disaster. Board members like Pam Kirby ignored the concerns of parents and community members. Her failure to listen resulted in Birdwell's eventual removal; however, it was only because Kirby could no longer ignore our concerns. Birdwell was indicted on 18 felony counts related to financial fraud, rigging bids and taking payoffs during her tenure in Higley USD and SUSD (https://www.azag.gov/sites/default/files/docs/press-releases/2021/indictments/HUSD%20INDICTMENT.pdf). She was pushed on SUSD by parents and community members who wanted a more "conservative" superintendent. Former Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane said Birdwell was the best superintendent SUSD ever had. Oh, the irony... Clearly, being a liberal or conservative should not be the metric used to select the best superintendent. We don't need more upheaval. We need consistency and longevity. Let Dr. Menzel do his job.
As legislators you have overstepped your authority as you continue to attack Dr. Menzel. Stop listening to the detractors while ignoring us, his supporters - YOUR constituents. We know your agenda, and we wholeheartedly reject it. You’re dragging Scottsdale into a fight that’s happening all over this country to malign those who are bold enough to address long-standing issues in our communities which show up in our schools in the form of: unequal opportunities, disproportionately harsh discipline for Black, Latino, indigenous, and special education students, and a curricula that doesn’t adequately reflect the diversity and complexity of our world. We don't want anyone to feel responsible, but understand that discomfort is expected when dealing with painful history.
We will continue to push back against your legislative overstep. You were elected to fix problems such as our lack of water crisis, housing crisis, mental health crisis, and more. Do the jobs for which you were elected.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
March 10, 2023
March 10, 2023
I am currently drafting a formal letter to Representatives Chaplik, Kolodin, and Hoffman to outline the community consensus regarding Dr. Menzel. This document will be delivered to their offices by the end of the week to ensure our position is on the public record.
Reached 100 supporters
March 8, 2023
157 Comments
As a property owner in your district I am extremely concerned about your behavior as an elected public servant. Spend your time, please, on full public school funding instead of attacking those who truly serve our students.
As a retired teacher, I object to our state elected officials trying to interfere with SUSD School Board decisions regarding Dr. Menzel. He has done nothing to violate his contract and should not be fired.
My granddaughter who is biracial attends Desert Canyon Elementary School. My daughter and I support Dr Menzel. We do not want our state representative’s with their twisted views of inclusion speaking for us. Shame!
I support Dr. Menzel. I attended the Feb. Gov Bd meeting when numerous, the far majority of citizens who attended the meeting, spoke in strong support of Dr. Menzel. It is very troubling to see these political groups try to overpower the will of our SUSD populace.
As a parent of three children who have gone through the SUSD schools and an educator, who has spent more than 20 years as an SUSD teacher, I support Dr Menzel We have gone through so much turmoil in this district and it is nice to finally have a superintendent who supports not only the community, but the educators as well
As an SUSD parent who had 3 children through the district I am so grateful for Dr Menzel’s leadership and guidance. I was a witness to the nightmare that was Denise Birdwell and Pam Kirby. Our schools were suffering.
There is no room for local legislators to get involved, let alone out of state politics. This should be dealt locally in a fair and transparent method. Thank you.
He is so professional and a great school administrator!
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As a property owner in your district I am extremely concerned about your behavior as an elected public servant. Spend your time, please, on full public school funding instead of attacking those who truly serve our students.