Wednesday, February 18, 2015

ROUND ONE GOES TO GOV. DUCEY

This has only encouraged Douglas's opponents.
Fired education workers back on the job — for now
By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services


PHOENIX — The state’s schools chief has backed down, at least for now, in her battle over who gets to hire and fire the staff of the Board of Education.

Christine Thompson, the board’s executive director, and Sabrina Vazquez, her assistant, returned to work Tuesday morning with Mary O’Grady, the board’s attorney, without incident.

In a news release issued just hours after the pair went back to work, Douglas said her decision not to lock them out was not a concession she was wrong, but simply a strategic move.

“The superintendent said she sees no reason to escalate the current situation by excluding people from access to the Department of Education building even though the action of the Board of Education was clearly outside of its authority,” the statement said. Nor is Douglas willing to let the issue drop, saying she will pursue legislation and court action “to confirm the proper oversight” of board employees.

Neither Douglas nor Sally Stewart, her spokeswoman, would provide a timeline for filing suit, saying in the release only that Douglas “would like to resolve this issue as quickly as possible so it is no longer a distraction.”

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