Hey, hey, Secular FAM! I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the smell of victory in the morning. I also enjoy it in the mid-morning, afternoon, dusk, and late in the evening. Which is good because lately, in the midst of *gestures broadly* all of this….
Secular AZ has been #winning on several fronts. Recently, our Legal Director, Dianne Post, testified against the “chaplain bill” and followed up with a letter, explaining how their bill violates current case law. It’s doubtful that Governor Hobbs will sign this discriminatory bill into law.
On another front, a couple of weeks ago, several concerned citizens in the Vail Unified School District (VUSD) alerted us to an agreement between the school district and the Latter-Day Saints (LDS). The school board there approved an agreement with the church to build a seminary on taxpayer-funded public school grounds. About a dozen or so people reached out, and within the next 24 hours, Dianne again fired off a letterto the district.
The district held a meeting for community members to weigh in, and then, earlier this week, the district announced that they have scrapped their agreement with the LDS Church.
JEANNE CASTEEN has a bachelor’s degree in human communication and history from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at ASU and a master’s in education, also from ASU. Jeanne has over 11 years of experience teaching in Maricopa County’s public schools. In 2011, Jeanne completed the Emerge Arizona program and in 2012 became a school board member of the Creighton School District. She served as Board President from 2016 through 2020. In 2020, Ms. Casteen ran for Maricopa County School Superintendent, and came within 12,000 votes of winning. She has been awarded the Arizona School Public Relations Association Award for Excellence in Advocacy and Political Contributions to Education as well as the Arizona School Board Association’s All-Arizona School Board Member Award.
Author: Jeanne Casteen, Secular AZ Executive Director
JEANNE CASTEEN has a bachelor’s degree in human communication and history from the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at ASU and a master’s in education, also from ASU. Jeanne has over 11 years of experience teaching in Maricopa County’s public schools. In 2011, Jeanne completed the Emerge Arizona program and in 2012 became a school board member of the Creighton School District. She served as Board President from 2016 through 2020. In 2020, Ms. Casteen ran for Maricopa County School Superintendent, and came within 12,000 votes of winning. She has been awarded the Arizona School Public Relations Association Award for Excellence in Advocacy and Political Contributions to Education as well as the Arizona School Board Association’s All-Arizona School Board Member Award. View all posts by Jeanne Casteen, Secular AZ Executive Director →
