A recall has been started to remove Nikkie Gomez-Whaley, the president of the Washington Elementary School District No. 6 (WESD) Governing Board. Gomez-Whaley (pictured above) presided over the board’s unanimous decision to terminate the district’s contract with Arizona Christian University (ACU) for student teachers due to the university’s religious viewpoints. A second recall effort is being planned to oust board member Tamilia Valenzuela, who led the move to terminate the contract, but state law provides that it cannot begin until she has been in office for six months.
Susan Bidell, who has a son and grandchildren in the district and who volunteers in the schools, told The Arizona Sun Times, “We don’t need social justice warriors on the board. We need people who want to serve the teachers, the parents, the students, and the staff of the district. Instead they point their finger and lecture us about things at the board meetings.”
Valenzuela has described herself as “witchy AF” and “queer AF,” and in her official bio on the WESD website as “neurodivergent.” Harvard Health defines the term, “The word neurodiversity refers to the diversity of all people, but it is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as other neurological or developmental conditions such as ADHD or learning disabilities.”
Ashlee Minton, whose son attends school at WESD and works as a substitute teacher in the district, filed the recall paperwork on April 3. It states, “Nikkie Whaley put the education of the children in the Washington Elementary School District in jeopardy by ascribing to a hateful, anti-Christian narrative. Despite a successful relationship with Arizona Christian University spanning eleven years, and no complaints about the student teachers from this school, Ms. Whaley approved an agenda to end this successful relationship based on what she perceived as a ‘potential’ mindset and her personal beliefs.”
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times