I have been keeping a hawkish eye with regard to Title I Schools that have a high Chicano and Latino population in the Phoenix metro area and the abuses that are going on with regard to our children and community.   One school district we wrote about highlighted a local Arizona state Senator Martin Quezada who sits on the board of Pendergast School District.

To see the initial story, see:  Pendergast Fed. of School Emp. Past President: "Senator Martin Quezada May Have Violated Arizona Open Meeting Law".  In a nutshell, Larry Nolen was a teacher in an Arizona school district for 25 years and a member of the teacher's association for at least 15 years.  He was also a past President of Pendergast Federation of School Employees for 8 years, but also served as Vice President of the federation for 4 years.   Larry Nolen has met with Martin in the past as a representative of the union to discuss how the district was going. According to Larry Nolen, Arizona State Senator Martin Quezada more than likely violated open meeting law as a member of the Pendergast governing board when Quezada sent text messages to Nolen about a teacher that was supposed to be discussed in private. 

I spoke with Larry Nolen, and have discovered that the AG has requested minutes from the Pendergast School District to confirm whether or not the complaint holds water.  I am told Erika Rodriguez, a parent from Pendergast is filing a complaint with the AG’s office, too.

To file a complaint, please contact the Attorney General’s office at https://www.azag.gov/sites/default/files/sites/all/docs/complaints/new/open_meeting_law_complaint_form-2015.pdf by downloading this form and sending this to:

Arizona Attorney General’s Office

Attention: Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team/SGO

1275 West Washington

Phoenix, AZ 85007

I will keep you updated as this story continues to develop and what the Attorney General’s concludes.  More than likely Arizona Bar Complaints will follow suit.