West Valley View, Avondale, Arizona, Friday, April 13, 2012


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Warren (From Page 1)


employees and pay less because benefits are the responsibility of smartschoolsplus. However, Tolleson started getting rid of those employees. “[Warren] was given sort of special


privilege and when we were removing other smartschools employees, he was one who was allowed to stay,” Board Member Kim Owens said. Tuesday’s meeting was standing room


only, and students stood in the back of the room holding signs in support of Warren. After calling the meeting to order, Board President Mike Watson asked them to lower their signs. “Your signs are not going to make any


difference in regards to decisions that are being made tonight,” he said.


Shaking things up About 10 people spoke in support of


Warren, but the Governing Board voted 4-1 not to renew his contract. Owens cast the lone dissenting vote. Her concern was that Westview Principal Brandi Haskins is being transferred to another campus next year, so the school will lose two administrators at once.


confident the students and staff at Westview would be OK without Haskins and Warren. “There may be times that movement takes


Navy (From Page 1)


envelope for the building and variable frequency drives for the mechanical system.


All aboard Not surprisingly, the $11.2 million building has a nautical feel. Its roof is shaped like the bow of a ship, and the lobby resembles a deck. “We support reserve sailors, and some of them have


never served on active duty before,” DeWitt said. “So we try to give them some semblance of walking on something nautical.”


place; very few schools have a principal forever,” she said. “I look in this room and see the tremendous strength on that Westview campus. It’s not in one person; it’s in all of you.”


Board Member Terri Hackett echoed the sentiment, and said one of the reasons Cunningham was hired was to stir things up a little. “We want to make AYP, we want our students to grow stronger, and we truly feel that in Ms. Cunningham, we have the leadership available to do that,” she said. “If we tie her hands and do not allow her to make some of the decisions she needs to make, we might as well not have hired her.” That wasn’t good enough for those in attendance. “This would be very disruptive, and it seems reckless,” parent Joe Lauer said. “I’m not sure who makes the decisions, but I believe they’re ill-advised and we can’t let them stand. “Who would fire a man like Mike Warren? It just doesn’t make any sense. We need more men like Mike Warren, not less. He’s honest, has integrity and is a leader. He cares about the school and does everything for the program.”


‘Out of left field’ When the district experienced huge


“Is this a bit of a drain on that campus at one time?” Owens asked. Despite her vote, Owens said she was


budget cuts a few years ago and the grounds staff was cut back, Warren voluntarily mowed the grass on the fields all summer.


picked up the slack and did it because it needed to be done,” Huffman said. Warren, 55, said he hasn’t figured out what his next move will be. “It really came out of left field, so I’m still kind of processing it,” he said. “I’ve had some people reach out to me about some possibilities, so I’m just kind of trying to get my thoughts together and get a game plan going. I definitely need to keep working.” Warren didn’t attend the meeting, but instead stayed at his office, working late. “There’s part of me that wanted to go, because there’s been a tremendous outpouring that I’ve had from people and I’m very grateful to those people, but I think this is bigger than me,” he said. After the decision was made, the crowd


filed out of the Board Room. “I don’t feel like the board listened to


us,” Huffman said. “I think they afforded us the time to speak because they’re bound to by law, but the outcome demonstrates that it’s clear they did not listen to us.” “I can hear the concerns of parents and teachers in the room, and I see the concern on students’ faces,” Cunningham said. “We’re making changes districtwide to try and move the district forward. There are changes being made at other sites, too.” A community forum to discuss hiring


He also frequently cleaned the gym and locker rooms after games because the maintenance crews “had enough to do,” said Lance Huffman, a history teacher and varsity volleyball coach at Westview.


a new principal for Westview will start at 5:45 p.m. April 17 at the school, 10850 W. Garden Lakes Parkway in Avondale.


Emily McCann can be reached by email at emccann@westvalleyview.com or on Twitter @NewsbyEmily.


“Nobody asked him to do it, he just Correction


Child abuse victim had no broken bones In a Page 1 story on April


6, the View reported that a 4-year-old Goodyear girl, the alleged victim of child abuse, suffered broken bones. Goodyear police reported the broken bones after the girl’s adoptive parents, Raul and Tricia Varela, were taken into custody in April 2009, according to Jerry Cobb, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s office. However, the initial report


was in error, Cobb said Monday. The girl’s body was covered with bruises, but additional medical tests revealed no broken bones. On March 29, Tricia Varela,


42, was found guilty of one count of reckless child abuse, but jurors were unable to reach a verdict on other child abuse charges against Varela and her husband, 43, a former Goodyear city employee. A judge set a new trial date of June 25 on the undecided charges against both defendants. A sentencing date was not set for Tricia Varela on the guilty verdict.


The center will serve a full-time command and administrative staff, a medical unit and reservists during drill weekends — the first of which is Saturday and Sunday. The building has a 4,800-square-foot drill hall, command


staff offices, reserve unit administration spaces, medical and dental examination areas, six classrooms, a distance learning center, a physical fitness room and a quarterdeck. “What I’ve learned from talking to corporations that


have done large moves, it will probably take about three months for us to really get back into the groove and get over the growing pains,” DeWitt said. Since the reservists mainly need the facility on


environment,” he said. “The more we can leverage our capabilities and talents with each other, the more money we can save during these trying fiscal times.” The additional personnel on base won’t affect Luke’s mission or alter its number of flight operations in any way, base officials said. “It’s increasingly common for multiple branches of the military to share space on an installation,” said Capt. Tristan Hinderliter, chief of Public Affairs at Luke. “We’re delighted to have the chance to host our sister service here at Luke.”


“The fiscal reality is we have to operate as a joint


weekends, the Air Force can also use it during the week, he said.


View photo by Michael Clawson


SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER GARY WARD of Avondale reviews materials related to his upcoming deployment to Africa inside a computer lab Wednesday at the new Navy Operational Support Center at Luke Air Force Base. Ward will be serving an eight-month deployment in Djibouti. The computer lab’s dated computer monitors will soon be replaced by more energy-efficient screens.


Informational Meeting Scott Libby Elementary School


18701 W. T omas Rd., Litchfi eld Park


Monday, April 16 & April 30 6:30-7:30


T e Litchfi eld Elementary School District invites all parents and interested parties to attend an informational meeting at Scott Libby Elementary School in Litchfi eld Park.


T e meeting will discuss adding a traditional/ classical program to the Scott Libby campus. T is information will be presented on Monday, April 16th


as well as Monday, April 30th questions. from 6:30-7:30 anyone


interested in learning more about this potential program. Administrators will be on hand to explain the program and answer


COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE


Saturday, April 14, 7 A.M. - 2 P.M.


Directions: From I-10, take Exit 126 and turn south onto Estrella Parkway. Continue on Estrella Parkway 8 miles to the traffi c signal at Elliot. Turn right onto Elliot and right into the Estrella Marketplace. Make sure to stop at Estrella Homes and Land (9860 S. Estrella Parkway, Suite B-125) to pick up your free map of all the homes participating in the sale. You won’t want to shop without it.


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