Update: Changes have been made to this story to refine the headline and provide further comment from the superintendent.

Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story was unclear that only Coronado High School teachers are required to work six Saturdays in the upcoming school year.

A new superintendent's education changes and personnel moves have some Scottsdale Unified School District parents and educators upset.

Denise Birdwell retired as school chief in Gilbert's Higley Unified School District and, in January 2016, joined the Scottsdale district, which includes 30 schools enrolling some 24,000 students.

Discontent began shortly after Birdwell forced all educators at Coronado High School to reapply for their jobs. She says it was necessary to jump-start transformation at the underperforming high school. Some parents and educators say it was poorly communicated.

Birdwell also changed the chain of command for school psychologists. By this school year's end, more than half of the district's 28 psychologists resigned or retired.

So far, teacher resignations are on par with prior years. However, one departing teacher is 24-year Chaparral High School teacher Christine Marsh, who was named the state's top teacher in 2016.

"I am switching to Cave Creek because I want to work in a district that focuses on the needs of students, while still respecting the voice of teachers," she said in an email to The Arizona Republic.

Critics also raise concerns about two of Birdwell's hires: a chief financial officer who is part owner of a company that does work for the district, and a friend's brother. Despite concerns, Birdwell praised both administrators at a school board meeting this week.

Unhappy parents and educators have held meetings on weekends and evenings and attended school board meetings to share their concerns, but they're not convinced district leaders are listening.

"As an expert, it becomes dangerous when you think you’re the only one who’s right," said Rony Assali, Arcadia High School math teacher and past president of the Scottsdale Education Association. "The best excuse people will use, and our board uses it all the time: 'It’s just change.' "

SUSD Board Member Allyson Beckham praises Birdwell for making student-centered decisions.

Birdwell says the reaction is simply human nature: people don't like change.

The changes include requiring Coronadoteachers to work six Saturdays in the upcoming school year to explore ways to better meet students' needs and ensuring teachers make more time to meet with students one-on-one outside of the school day. The teachers will be compensated $7,000 each, according to a district spokeswoman.

"Change is painful. And there are those who say change doesn’t have to be painful — I get that. But significant change sometimes is difficult," Birdwell said. "The reality is, you have to be willing to be part of the change."

What happened at Coronado High School?

Birdwell quickly saw a need for change at Coronado High School.

The south Scottsdale high school's graduation rate was 73 percent, compared to the district average of 86 percent, according to the most recently available Arizona Department of Education numbers from the 2014-2015 school year.

On AzMERIT tests, 10 percent of Coronado students passed the math test and 14 percent passed the language arts test in the 2015-16 school year, according to state figures.

Birdwell, in January, ushered in what she dubbed the Coronado Success Initiative, which included making educators at the school reapply for their jobs ahead of the 2017-18 school year.

"It is completely a student-centered initiative," Birdwell said. "When only (10) percent of the students at Coronado can pass a math examination — state examination — something has to be done."

Assali and others say Birdwell is confusing "student-centered" with "test result-centered."

Nearly every parent and educator who spoke to The Republic agreed something had to be done about Coronado. But some didn't like the way change was rolled out.

Birdwell said she held community meetings to reach out to parents and educators on how to best implement changes at Coronado and promised educators a job elsewhere in the district if they didn't get their jobs after reapplying.

About one-third of educators returned to Coronado, she said. A "large percentage" went elsewhere in the district and a "small percentage" resigned or retired, she said.

Beckham said the district never forced teachers out.

"Teachers are leaving because they choose to," the board member said.

Beckham and Birdwell said the new Coronado policies put students first, and the old ones put teachers first. That is why teachers quit, Birdwell said.

"(Teachers think) 'I’m being asked to do something differently, I’m being asked to look at things differently,' " she said. "It becomes personal. We’ve not said that the failure rate is due to the teachers. We’ve said that the system itself is not functioning in a manner that’s helping students be successful."

But many see her actions as detrimental to the educators who make up the backbone of the school and the parents who depend on those teachers.

Coronado has long been the "red-headed stepchild" of the district, parent Mike Peabody said.

Peabody is vice president of communities for the Scottsdale Parent Council and tries to foster communication between parents and district leaders.

He blames much of the push-back against the Coronado Success Initiative on poor communication between the two parties. He said he's not entirely opposed to the initiative, but would have wanted more information before it was implemented.

"I’m willing to give it a chance, but I want to know more," he said. "I am very loyal to my schools. I have rebuilt robotics parts, I’ve scrubbed toilets. There’s nothing I would not do for that school."

An exodus of psychologists

Beyond Coronado, Birdwell stirred school psychologists' concerns when she eliminated the district's lead psychologist position. More than half of the district's psychologists resigned or retired by the end of the 2016-17 school year.

Birdwell said she saw systemic problems in how school psychologists worked — taking too long to evaluate students and not being directly accountable to principals.

Birdwell said parents had complained to her that children were being denied special-needs evaluations for as long as three years. She would not provide The Republic with specific examples, saying that doing so would "put a parent in a battle between psychologists and the school."

Under Birdwell's model, principals are responsible for making sure psychologists meet deadlines and evaluate students in a timely fashion.

Birdwell said psychologists believed they should only report to another psychologist.

By comparison, school psychologists in the Cave Creek Unified School District report to two co-lead psychologists. The Higley Unified School District is creating a lead psychologist position ahead of the upcoming school year.

The state's largest school district, Mesa Public Schools, uses a similar system. Samara Way is Mesa's coordinator of psychological services, which is comparable to what other districts call a lead psychologist. She's also president of the Arizona Association of School Psychologists and called Scottsdale's loss of a lead psychologist "unfortunate."

Resignation letters The Republic obtained in a public records request showed several did raise concerns.

"I am unable to follow the National Association of School Psychologists practice model and believe it is my ethical responsibility to do so," psychologist Shanna Sadeh wrote. "I have greatly enjoyed learning and growing with my SUSD colleagues and wish everyone the best."

Conflict of interest allegations

Beyond educational changes, parents have raised concerns about two administrative hires under Birdwell.

Louis Hartwell, who was hired in October 2016 as the district's chief systems officer, is the brother of Birdwell's landlady and roommate.

Birdwell confirmed she lives at the same address as Hartwell’s sister.

“I rent (from her),” Birdwell said in an email to The Republic. “The term ‘roommate’ is misleading.”

Laura Smith, hired as the district's chief financial officer in February, works for a consulting firm that does work for the district.

Smith is listed as the firm's president and director on an annual report filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission in March.

Scottsdale parent Karen Treon sent a memo to the Arizona Attorney General's Office requesting an investigation into both hires. An office spokesperson said they are reviewing the request before deciding whether to investigate.

The request for an investigation came after Treon made a records request with the district for Smith's disclosures of outside employment in April. She received three documents on May 4.

Two documents dated Feb.15 and Feb. 24 show Smith works for the consulting firm Professional Group Public Consulting outside of her SUSD work hours and has a "substantial interest" in contracts and sales for the district.

A third document caught Treon's eye as it is dated May 3, the day before she received the records, and it identifies Smith as part-owner of the consulting firm.

"From time to time, the Professional Group Public Consulting (PGPC) provides consulting services to the District," it says. "I will refrain from participating in any manner in any decision or action by the Scottsdale Unified School District to retain or utilize the services of PGPC."

The Mesa-based Professional Group Public Consulting Group has done work for the district since last January. Among the most recent work was a district-wide special education audit.

Birdwell said Smith appropriately disclosed any potential conflicts of interest and her outside employment has not been an issue.

Governing Board President Barbara Perleberg said she and other district leaders are aware of Smith's connection to PGPC, but don't believe it's cause for concern.

"I can't speak directly to that connection," she said. "I know our counsel has looked into it and has not expressed any concerns to us at this time. ... It's my understanding that Ms. Smith was never the one choosing that company and she wasn't here when the company was hired."

As for Hartwell, the superintendent said he was the most qualified applicant for the job.

Hartwell, who used to own a construction company called Hartwell Homes, oversees certain bond construction projects for the district.

Public records show Hartwell had nearly $45,000 in federal tax liens against him for unpaid federal tax liabilities from 2003 to 2010. The IRS would not disclose if that had been paid.

The Republic reached out to Hartwell, but Birdwell responded for him.

"In regard to your questions about Mr. Hartwell and past taxes, that is an issue that does not involve the Scottsdale Unified School District," she said in a statement. "However, in general, SUSD is aware that many people and businesses suffered financial hardship during the recession, from 2008 to 2013."

Perleberg also said she isn't concerned Hartwell's personal finances will interfere with his work for the district.

At a school board meeting on June 20, Birdwell praised Smith and Hartwell for their work. She said Smith remedied problems with how the prior CFO kept the books and Hartwell helped track down missing band equipment found in a Mesa warehouse.

Treon had raised her concerns at governing board meetings this year, but she said parent input isn't sought or listened to.

"I think people feel like, 'What do we have to do to be heard here?' " Treon said.

How does the SUSD move forward?

Despite concerns, many parents praise the Scottsdale district.

"We’ve had the best experience. We have choices. I’ve toured private schools, I’ve toured charter schools," parent Patty Beckman said. "My loyalty is to the district because we’ve had such a great experience.”

However, she wants to see district leaders value teachers more.

"I didn’t stay because of the district’s reputation," she said. "I didn’t stay because the superintendent was doing such a great job. I stayed for the teachers. You start hearing teachers are leaving, you hear about Coronado (and you get concerned)."

Parents and educators say they want to be included in decision-making.

"We want to be at the table. But our concern is, are we going to be seen as enemies and whiners, or allies who can help move education forward?" Assali said.

Board member Beckham said she understands where concerned parents are coming from, even if she doesn't see the same issues they do.

Birdwell acknowledges that to be a student-centered district, she needs to make sure teachers feel valued.

"The piece I think gets missed about a student-centered environment is the fact that the greatest impact on any student is the teacher," she said. "We want to make sure that we create a system that is student-centered and, yes, supports teachers."

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