An increasingly baffled nation will watch as the long and twisted witch hunt of Tucson’s Ethnic Studies/Mexican American Studies program takes a hasty Orwellian turn on Tuesday.
Despite the fact that a costly state-commissioned audit has been delayed and largely discredited, and a new federal suit has recently been filed by the affected Mexican American Studies teachers, the once defiant Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) governing board could buckle under the state’s bullying and consider a resolution that effectively castrates one of their district’s most acclaimed programs.
Only months ago, TUSD officials vowed to “fight to the end” against the bizarre HB2281 law passed by the extremist Tea Party-controlled Arizona state legislature, which bans any school program that advocates the overthrow of the government. TUSD superintendent John Pedicone had defiantly challenged: “How can we be out of compliance with a law that’s unconstitutional?”
That sentiment seems to have waned quickly, as Arizona’s rabid state administrators ramped up threats to cut $15 million from the TUSD budget for any program non-compliance with the new law.
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http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2011/04/25/arizona-witch-hunt-showdown-on-tuesday-exclusive-interviews-with-ethnic-studies-teachers/