Teachers Pay Teachers ban, DEI questioned during public comment at Litchfield Elementary board meeting
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Summary
Three speakers told the Litchfield Elementary School District governing board on Feb. 4 they oppose a ban on Teachers Pay Teachers and questioned the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion work, urging clearer evidence or different responses from the district.
Three people used the meeting’s public-comment period on Feb. 4 to address two issues: a recent district restriction on the website Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) and concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies adopted earlier in the decade.
The most detailed remarks came from teachers and a community member who said the TPT restriction was implemented without staff input and removes a resource many classroom teachers said they rely on for standards-aligned materials.
"A blanket ban does not address the root issue of securing the district's network properly," Becca Bolio said, identifying herself as a parent and teacher at the microphone. She urged the information-technology department to improve vetting and cybersecurity rather than remove access to a widely used resource.
Elizabeth Warren, introduced at the podium as a seventh-grade history teacher, said she learned over a weekend that TPT access would be disabled the following Monday. "No discussion. No conversation," she said, adding she uses TPT for standards-based lessons and that the change felt like a loss of professional autonomy.
Mike Finnegan addressed the board on DEI, saying the district spent money and time in 2021 on policies and consultant work and urging the board to present measurable results from those investments. "Four long years have now passed since its implementation... it's time for this district to present hard evidence showing what this investment of time, money, and resources to create DEI have been," Finnegan said.
Board president read the standard public-comment disclaimer at the start of the item, citing the Arizona revised statutes provision that governs public-comments and the limitations on board response. Board members did not take action during public comment but one member later requested a future agenda item to discuss appropriate and inappropriate usage of Teachers Pay Teachers.
A motion requesting that future agenda item was made from the public-comment period and acknowledged by the president as a request for a future agenda, not an immediate action.
Ending
The board did not vote on either issue during the meeting. Board members said they expect staff to return with information: one member asked that the topic of TPT usage be placed on a future agenda so the board, teachers and IT staff could discuss policy and vetting options.