Payson Community Educational Presentation: Human Trafficking

"Every 30 seconds, someone is trafficked"  

Human trafficking: "People don’t think it happens here"  Andrea Kadar, Verde Valley Coalition Against Human Trafficking 

Please attend this important event on Wednesday, September 20, to hear the facts about human trafficking, including in northern Arizona.  

Guest speakers will include Andrea Kadar of the Verde Valley Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Payson Chief of Police Don Engler, and Marlene Hetrick, Local Pastor and Secretary of the Payson TEA Party

Please note:  No one under the age of 13 will be admitted due to graphic content.

The presentation will begin at 6:00 pm in the Payson High School Auditorium, 301 S. McLane, Payson, Arizona.

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Arizona K-12 School Finance Statistics: Why does Arizona Rank #48 in Per Pupil Spending?

You’ve heard the mantra, especially from newspaper editorials around Arizona, accusing the Legislature of "disgraceful, seemingly willful abandonment of our public schools."   (See Payson Schools facing Tough Competition.)   Arizona’s news editors don’t want you to know the "rest of the story," if it doesn’t fit their Leftist world view.  What are the facts?  

The Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA) has put together an 8-page document titled Arizona K-12 School Finance Statistics: Providing Context to a Complex Measurement, that provides factual information relating to the reasons and fallacies surrounding the commonly argued narrative that Arizona doesn’t fund K-12 education adequately. 

Summary

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Diane Douglas Underwater; Frank Riggs Swimming to the Top

According to a recent Capitol Times Yellow Sheet Report titled “Underwater is a Bad Place to Be,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas is going to have an uphill battle to get reelected.  

A recent poll by GOP consultant Chris Baker shows incumbent Douglas with ratings of 15 percent favorability and a whopping 47 percent unfavorability.  Another 38 percent had no opinion. “I think Diane Douglas has probably reached the point of no return,” Baker told the Capitol Times reporter.

As stated in the article, “the poll surveyed 500 self-described likely voters (all of whom have voted in at least one of the last two general elections) from June 14-15, with a partisan breakdown of 35 percent Republicans, 31 percent Democrats and 33 percent independents. Of those 500 voters, 70 percent were contacted on landlines via autodial, while 30 percent were interviewed by live callers on their cell phones. The poll had a margin of error of plus-minus 4.9 percent.”

This is what happens when a novice takes office with no business or executive experience. 

Arizona needs a strong, tested and proven Superintendent with the right combination of executive experience, managerial skills, knowledge of education policies and practices, integrity, and judgment to lead our state’s K-12 schools!  That person is Frank Riggs.  

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Frank Riggs for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction

Yes, I’m supporting Frank Riggs for Arizona’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction, and I’m downright enthusiastic about it.   Why?  Without a doubt, he’s the most qualified.  Also, he puts Students first, not the institution of public education.  He respects and welcomes dialogue with Parents, not paid, self-interested lobbyists. He is a proven education leader for school choice, local control, and quality education.  He believes that quality education means focusing on classroom teaching and learning, and on recruiting and retaining the very best teachers for Arizona’s kids.  He has promised to advocate and work tirelessly for a high-quality education to help every child reach their full potential, regardless of where they live or their socio-economic circumstances. He also intends to make the Arizona Department of Education fully transparent, responsive, and accountable to parents, educators and taxpayers.  

Please take a look at his website, and you’ll see that not only does he "say" all the right things, but he has also "done" all the right things.  

Frank Riggs has earned the endorsements of leaders and parents who want the education of Arizona’s children to be the First Priority! See below for some of their statements about Frank Riggs, and then read his record of leadership, and you’ll know why these dedicated people are fighting for Frank Riggs as Arizona’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction:

Jared Taylor has stated this about Frank Riggs:  "Frank Riggs is the most qualified candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona’s history.”  Not only is Mr. Taylor an anti-Common Core constitutional conservative serving as a Member of the State Board of Education and Gilbert Town Councilman, he is also the business manager for Heritage Academy.  One of the missions of this charter school is to ensure that its students learn about the lives, beliefs, and accomplishments of the heroes of America – our founding fathers and mothers – and to better understand the values and principles which governed their lives and upon which they built the American nation. 

Mr. Taylor is a leader of the Mommy Lobby, with whom I have been privileged to work for the last 6 years, focusing on defeating The Common Core Machine in Arizona.  

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Frank Riggs to Speak March 17, 2017 in Tucson

Please enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day luncheon and an enlightening speech on "Ensuring a Great Education for All Kids," presented by Frank Riggs, Scottsdale businessman and former U.S. Congressman.  Mr. Riggs is also the former CEO of Charter Schools Development Corporation and the founding president of Arizona Connections Academy.  

This event will be held at the Sabbar Shrine, 450 S. Tucson Blvd., Tucson, AZ.  Tickets are $20 per person.  For more information and to purchase tickets, contact Debe Fleenor, debefleenor@allstate.com or text Debe at 520-250-1755.  

 

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ALERT: Contact AZ House to Say NO to SB1314

Please take action on the SB1314 ‘Student Data Privacy’ Bill.   As written, it is not a good Bill.  Members of the Mommy Lobby are working with House Education Committee members to get an amendment to get our 3 concerns addressed. 

Right now, we OPPOSE SB1314 as written.

SB1314 will be heard in the House Education Committee Monday, March 6 at 2pm.  Click HERE to see the agenda.  

HERE ARE THE 3 MAIN OBJECTIONS TO SB1314: 

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Lindblom and Lewis and their Questionable Endorsements

Jimmy Lindblom is running as a conservative against proven conservative, Warren Petersen, for the open Senate seat in LD12.  LaCinda Lewis is running as a conservative against proven conservative Eddie Farnsworth and Travis Grantham for one of the House seats in LD12.

Lindblom’s website cites Protecting Individual Freedoms • Limited Government • Local Control • Education Advocate • Business Friendly.  Under the heading "Media", you will see several flyers, including one titled "Our Conservative Team for the State Legislature," which includes LaCinda Lewis as his team mate.  (See below.)

Lewis touts Family – Education – Economy from a  a "unique conservative perspective."

It’s hard to fathom why voters would believe that Lindblom and Lewis are conservatives.   Conservatives abide by the Republican platform.  They work very hard to stand up for and defend those principles.  RINO’s and Democrats don’t.  Why work hard when it’s easier to vote for something that sounds good.    

Lindblom and Lewis have listed many endorsements they have received from local leaders.  Gilbert Watch took a look at some of those endorsements. 

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Heber-Overgaard Schools Governing Board Votes NO to Signing Common Core Declaration

Last Thursday, Oct. 10, the Heber-Overgaard School District Governing Board took a stand. They unanimously refused to sign the Common Core Declaration that was “required” of them by the Arizona Department of Education (AZDOE). Agenda Item 8.02 Approval of Declaration of Curricular and Instructional Alignment to the Arizona Academic Standards was not approved.

The room was full of parents, teachers, and other members of the community. Many spoke out against Common Core. Senator Chester Crandell (LD6) spoke about his concern that, with the exception of the Superintendent, all of the members of the State Board of Education are appointed by the Governor, not elected by the voters. That needs to change. He also voiced his concerns about PARCC testing, stating that he was in favor of college entrance exams.

The board understands that they still have to abide by the Common Core State Standards, because the state law requires it. However, this vote should send a message to the Administration, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal, and the AZDOE that the Heber-Overgaard Schools Governing Board and community are not in favor of Common Core.

You may think that this board vote was the big story. It isn’t.

The big story is what parents, teachers, and a governing board member had to say during this meeting.

 

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