February 12, 2023 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
395 CUSD kids considered suicide since July BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
Nearly 400 students in the Chandler Unified School District have considered killing themselves since July. And those are the ones that district officials know about, admitting students first reach out for help to their peers before they will go to an adult. Brenda Vargas, CUSD’s director of counseling and social services, disclosed that number during a study session for the Governing Board on Feb. 8. “I want to bring everyone’s attention to that number, 395,” Vargas said. “From July of this school year till December, our school counselors and social workers completed 395 suicide assessments this year in one semester – that is, students with thoughts of suicide that in some way, shape or form, shared that they wanted to die. “That’s 395 lives.”
Board President Jason Olive had requested the study session to get an update on what the district has done to address student mental health. That became a major issue for the district at the end of the 2021-22 school year after three CUSD students took their lives in a 10-day period in May. Another suicide involving a Chandler Unified student occurred at the start of this school year. Vargas and her staff gave the board a presentation of all the steps they have taken to address the problem. One board member, however, wondered if they have gone too far and tried to do too much. “It looks like we’re doing diagnoses and treatments on our campuses, essentially providing health care for kids,” member Kurt Rohrs said. “Not disputing there’s a need. OK. “But I’m starting to wonder if there
are other government agencies that specialize in this type of work. And you may not be satisfied with the way they are performing …, but I’m starting to wonder if we’re really starting to get away from our primary objective, which is educating kids; teaching them to read because nobody else does that.” Rohrs was reacting to the news that the district intends to open up a Hope Institute on the Perry High School campus to serve its students in the southeastern portion of the district map. Another Hope Institute is planned for its new Chandler Care Center to serve the northern half of the district. The Hope Institute is a new model and the first in the nation. The Ohio company was one of three that won a bid to provide mental health services to CUSD students. As planned, students would be able to see a professional within 48 hours.
Vargas said some patients currently wait between six-to-eight weeks to see a mental health professional. She said at some places you must wait close to 12 weeks. “I would be remiss if I didn’t share that Phoenix Children’s and other partners are watching closely in order to replicate this model statewide,” Vargas said. Vargas responded to Rohrs’ question by pointing out that if a student is in crisis, it is going to be impossible to teach them anything until that is addressed. “We know what’s not in our wheelhouse,” said Dr. Craig Gilbert, the district’s associate superintendent of preK-12 educational services. “We know what we feel we’re not experts in, and so we’re bringing the experts in, so that we can have a comprehensive care plan from intervention to post-vention. See
SCHOOLS on Page 10
Chandler Council addresses how it conducts business BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
During December’s Chandler City Council meeting, there was a moment when the body didn’t know what to do. Council was in the process of listening to residents who wanted to speak about a proposed proclamation opposing an affordable housing project in South Chandler. Vice Mayor Terry Roe, who was attending his last full regular meeting as a member of the body, called for the question. Mayor Kevin Hartke said they still had
six speakers to hear. Councilman Matt Orlando said he couldn’t do that, because there was no motion on the table to extend the comment period. Roe persisted. Hartke looked to City Attorney Kelly Schwab for guidance. Schwab told Council that she had concerns about hearing from some speakers, but not allowing others to speak. Roe then made a motion to approve the proclamation so that he could then call for the question. Eventually, the remaining speakers were allowed to address the body and Council voted unanimously in fvor of the
Chandler lawmaker withholds vote on GOP budget move BY HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
A new Chandler lawmaker brought to a screeching halt her Republican colleagues’ plans to enact a “skinny’’ budget and send it to Gov. Katie Hobbs. Rep. Liz Harris voted “no’’ on one of the main bills to fund the state for the new fiscal year beginning July 1.
All final House actions require 31 affirmative votes. But with the GOP having just 31 members and Democrats refusing to go along, that left the plan short. Harris would not discuss her decision. Neither would House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria. See
HARRISon Page 5
GOT NEWS?
Contact Ken Sain at 480-898-6825 or ksain@ timeslocalmedia.com
proclamation. There are laws that dictate some of the ways that Council must do its work. But, they don’t cover everything. Council gets to set its own rules for how it operates, and those rules have not been updated in more than a dozen
years. Council met in a two-hour work session Feb. 6 to change that. A four-person subcommittee has been meeting since December to look at the See
COUNCILon Page 8
Chopstick challenges Tarwater Elementary’s Dual Language Mandarin Immersion Program hosted its ninth annual celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year Feb. 3 with a public event that drew hundreds of people. To prepare students for global citizenship, Tarwater’s dual language program serves more than 300 students from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade who spend half the school day in the Mandarin classroom and the other half in English. Among the Toros who joined in the fun celebration this month were fourth-graders Victoria Clark and Alexa Schicke, both 10, who tried to use chopsticks to move candy from one bowl to another. For more photos from the event, see page 31. (David Minton/Staff Photographer)
F E AT U R E D STO R I E S Proposed state taxcuts could cost city $25 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15 New business helps kids with STEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 Musician brings all that jazz to Knox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 26 College's photo exhibit captures Prague's beauty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 34
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Business . . . . . . . . 19 Clip-It . . . . . . . . . . 23 Sports . . . . . . . . . 24 Neighbors . . . . . . 26 Faith . . . . . . . . . . . 32 GetOut . . . . . . . . 34 Classifieds . . . . . . 37