The good, the bad and the ugly in the City of Nogales

ABRAZOS to the good faith demonstrated by the governing board of Nogales Unified School District No. 1. The school board recently rejected the tax-and-spend proposals by Superintendent Shawn McCollough and Assistant Superintendent Steve Zimmerman for a $15 million bond issue and raising the maintenance and operation voter approved override from 6.39 percent to 8.96 percent.

During these difficult financial times the school board should be commended for protecting the business community and taxpayers. In the same manner we as a community should show good faith with the Nov. 3 override election. Let’s continue to support teaching and learning at its current level of $1.7 million annually for five years. VOTE YES

ABRAZOS to the well-organized Nogales Night Out. It was a safe night at Teyechea Park with all the law enforcement personnel sharing their expertise on how to stay safe with elementary and middle school students. Vice Mayor Arturo Garino’s time and effort on this project was a highlight. It was amazing to see our community children learn about the importance of what to do during a fire, bicycle safety, the importance to buckle-up and to stay drug free. The environment was extremely friendly. I observed Santa Cruz County Attorney George Silva explaining to young children why they should say no to drugs and gave each one a T-shirt. One thing for sure, George would have made a dynamic classroom teacher.

ABRAZOS to the backbone of student learning at NUSD No .1. In the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, he defines a Level 5 Leadership as “�-.. compared to high-profile leaders with big personalities who make headlines and become celebrities, the good-to-great leaders seem to have come from Mars. Self-effacing, quiet, reserved, even shy �“ these leaders are a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. They are more like Lincoln and Socrates than Patton or Caesar.”

Leadership among our principals has kept its eye on the prize with student academic achievement. According to the Arizona Learns Achievement Profile on reading, writing, and math scores two principals raised the bar substantially. Lucina Romero guided Lincoln Elementary School from underperforming to performing plus and Mary L. Welty School under the three-year tenure of Fernando Parra reached highly performing. I will be writing about schools’ programs in their quest to achieve the rank of excelling.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “Stop-Think-Don’t Underage Drink.” Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services. Student-produced public service announcements.

(Editor’s Note: Varona is a former mayor of Nogales, and a former NUSD educator and administrator.)