Most Candidates For The Amphi School Board Spout The Same Old Tired Ideas. By Tim Vanderpool WHAT COULD HAVE been the juiciest school board race going, in a district hammered by hog-tied budgets, explosive growth and high-rolling land deals, has turned into a ho-hum husk of choices between mostly gray candidates hankering after the status quo. Two long-term incumbents and three newcomers are angling to fill slots on the Amphitheater School District's five-person board, among them Nancy Young Wright, an activist in the faltering fight to save Honey Bee Canyon, Michael Bartz, a trial lawyer who's also dabbled in real estate transfers, and Al Strachan, a retired district staffer who's still on the job to ensure his golden years are pension-padded. They face veterans Richard Scott, a UA marketing professor, and Virginia Houston, who's been on the board since 1980. Amphi's sprawling minions reach from slump-block Stone Avenue hovels to tony northside haciendas, with a gangly student body that's swelled from 8,500 in the early '80s to some 15,000 today. District teachers have subsequently felt that growth through buckling pay-scales, bloated classrooms and rising juvenile crime. Not surprisingly, their contract negotiations have become increasingly snarled, and they've accused the district of hiding extra money within its $96 million budget. At the same time, a cabal of local real estate honchos pranced away from a deal they brokered for the district, licking their well-heeled chops to the tune of $160,540 (see "The Real Dirt" in this issue). Candidate Bartz says the district hardly got a ganga in the $815,000 purchase of 72 acres--land that wasn't appraised, but was accepted to have a full cash value of only $234,000. "I won't go into specifics about it," he says. "But I don't think a consumer as large as Amphi should be paying retail. I don't think they should have done that." Candidate Strachan reports knowing little about the deal, despite having spent 21 years working for the district, most recently as an associate to the superintendent. "I wasn't at any of those meetings," he burbles. But Houston defends the purchase, saying, "That was a good price (for the property). Ask anybody in town." Scott was reportedly on the road, and unavailable to comment on the real estate deal. Aside from nagging land questions, several of the candidates still offer solutions--or at least rhetorical pabulum--for a fistful of problems plaguing Amphi, from truancy to juvenile crime and disgruntled teachers. Young Wright says a little more board openness would be a good start. "They keep a pretty tight lid on things," she says. "There's been an unremitting string of 5-0 votes. And a lot of parents say they're not heard at the meetings, that there's not even a call to the public." Strachan agrees, sort of. "That may be the perception," he says. "And perception is always more important fact." Houston says she regularly mingles with the masses, trekking throughout the district almost daily, and that all board meetings go by the rules. "We have a procedure to follow," she says. "If something's on the agenda, it's recorded every time." And she says board members have been upfront in dealing with the Amphitheater Education Association, a union claiming about half of the district's teachers. "We have a handle on that," she says. "They felt we were hiding money in the budget. But we've gone over the budget item-by-item, and have become more open about it. I think it's been a misunderstanding on the AEA's part." The association has also begun pressing for teacher tenure, an idea opposed by most of the candidates. "It's a ridiculous idea," Houston says. "If teachers do a good job, they don't have a problem." Strachan says he's not necessarily opposed to the concept. "If tenure means due process, then I'm for it," he says. "I think all teachers should have due process (for getting fired). But if it's not performance related, then I'm not for it." At a recent candidates' forum, Young Wright said she supports tenure, "not to keep bad teachers around, but to treat people like professionals." During the same meeting, Scott also called such job guarantees necessary. "It does provide for a lessening of stress, and serves a valid purpose," he said. He also noted he'd be hard-pressed to oppose it, coming as he does from the tenured bastion of the UA. Bartz falls on the other side of the job-guarantee fence. "I'm not in favor of it," he says. "Teachers who are tenured can become complacent, and that can end up hurting their own profession. It may work in higher academia, but it can frustrate new teachers." Beyond padding realtors' wallets, angling towards openness and soothing staff insecurities, Amphi's school board race ultimately comes down to one thing--giving students a square deal. And of course all candidates say that's exactly what they're after. Bartz has two kids in the district, and he says they've received a good education with little hassle. "I'd like to continue to maintain a safe environment for them," he says. "I'd like an alternative high school for repeat offenders, and then mainstream them back in; and I'd like to get more funding for the district from the state legislature." Young Wright says she wants to reduce class sizes, increase school safety and raise school funds through impact fees on development. Strachan throws out the frayed "zero tolerance" buzzwords when it comes to drugs, and wants to enhance student resources. Houston dishes up similarly vague homilies, saying that, despite Amphi's problems, "Our students come first. I've spent 40 years in the district, and there are complex problems such as violence. Still, Amphi is moving ahead." But whether that lumbering juggernaut is marked by unusual visionary change or simply business as usual remains to be seen, especially with an army of teachers, parents and realtors watching eagerly from the sidelines.

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