Oracle School Board Race has 2 Seats in November

VIA SBINSIDER| October 7

SaddleBrooke and the SaddleBrooke Ranch are islands of wealth in a relatively poor school district. The Oracle School Board has 5 members and although it is designated a non-partisan election, the current board has 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats. Oracle School District is a taxing authority and if you check your recent tax bill, you will see two lines for Oracle Schools.

In this election, two of the Republican members are running for re-election. Gary Terrell and Jeri Taylor. They are opposed by Democrats Wendy Odell and Donna Pedota. The differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates cannot be more stark and give voters an easy choice. Not surprisingly, the Democrat candidates are both Minnesota transplants, which is know for its progressive school system.

The Republicans favor the expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, (school choice vouchers) the Democrats do not. The Democrats support following CDC guidelines on masking students while the Republicans think the schools should follow Arizona law HB 2453. The Democrats want equity and inclusivity training for students and faculty the Republicans do not favor raced-based indoctrination. Those are the highlights.

Jeri Taylor is a military veteran and nurse. Gary Terrell is a former prosecutor from San Diego.

Incidentally this year was an historic one for school funding:

This year’s budget makes major improvements to Arizona’s K-12 education system, including the most significant yearly increase in the last eight years. With an additional $1 billion in year-over-year spending, total K-12 spending for this year is $8.45 billion. As per pupil funding surges, Governor Ducey said in a signing letter, “the classroom is exactly where this new funding should be directed by each school’s governing board.”