TUSD board member sets record straight about Sanchez’s future

Published: Feb. 16, 2017 at 7:52 PM MST|Updated: Mar. 2, 2018 at 4:16 PM MST
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TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - The Tucson Unified School District is set to discuss the future of its superintendent's contract, again.

The item, initiated by governing board member Rachael Sedgwick, appeared as a last-minute surprise addition to the meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14, but was pulled from the agenda.

READ MORE: TUSD board member Rachael Sedgwick apologizes for 'white supremacy rules' comments 

It's set to appear again at next week's special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, this time by the request of Sedgwick and board clerk Mark Stegeman.

The item's wording reads "discussion/consideration/action re employment, assignment, appointment, promotion, demotion, dismissal, salaries, disciplining or resignation of a public officer."

Today, in an exclusive Tucson News Now interview, Sedgwick set the record straight about her motives for wanting to discuss superintendent  Dr. H.T. Sanchez's future.

"I do not want to fire the superintendent," she said. "This is absolutely not an attack on the superintendent. It is a chance for us to come together to talk about how we're going to move forward. In a perfect world, he would stay and he would agree on exactly the things that are going to happen moving forward."

Sedgwick also apologized for "making a mistake" at the last meeting. Several audience members were upset Sanchez's contract was put so quickly on the agenda in the first place.

"The way I had the item placed on the agenda before the first time was, admittedly, a mistake," she said. "I messed up. I won't do that again."

Sedgwick is the newest board member who ran a campaign based on supervising the superintendent by holding him accountable, pushing for transparency and better school safety.

Sanchez will earn a base pay of $270,000 in 2017 and has 15 months left on his contract, which he has said he plans to fulfill.

Tucson News Now reached out to Sanchez for his reaction to next week's agenda item about his contract, but he declined to comment.

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