Interview with ASDB Supt. Annette Reichman
Alex: The Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB) had a four-year continuation bill signed into law by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on May 1.
It brings closure to a struggle between the ASDB community and several state senate leaders on whether the school should continue to exist as it is.
Here is an interview with ASDB Superintendent Annette Reichman. The interview was conducted just before Gov. Hobbs signed the bill into law.
[Begin interview]
Alex: The Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind has been in a struggle to get a continuation bill. This is unprecedented because ASDB has always gotten 8-year funding extensions approved. But recently some Republican leaders had different ideas, such as opening up the school to everyone or extending it for only one or two years. But there was finally a compromise that was approved, a four-year extension. It just passed and now it’s waiting for the governor’s signature. You went to both testimonies and were involved in the fight for ASDB’s future.
[Short video clip showing Reichman testifying before a Senate committee panel] She said, “This is the first time in ASDB’s 112 years of history that the are getting this line of questioning.”]
Alex: How are you feeling with all that’s happened to you? What are your thoughts on the struggle?
ASDB Superintendent Annette Reichman: ASDB has been here since 1912. It’s the first time that the state legislature has asked us questions or challenged us about ASDB’s funding. We did not expect this to happen. The state has a system in which each state agency has to undergo a review every ten years. They are then approved to continue for the next ten years. ASDB has been here all along and nobody noticed because it happens every ten years. So this year we thought it would be the same. Last year, we had a review by the Arizona auditor general. They looked at our programs and finances. They said it was all good, except for a few issues that would be fixed. The report was given to the state legislature and it was cleared to be approved. So the Arizona House passed the eight-year continuation bill. But when it went to the Senate, it stalled. We were waiting for weeks. We didn’t know what was going on. It seems like certain senators heard about financial issues or agency problems with education. So they didn’t want to fund us for more than a year. So we had to go and fight. I testified twice. We were fortunate to have Troy Kotsur come during both the morning and afternoon sessions. He spoke to the senators on both the education and government committees.
[Short video clip showing Kotsur testifying before a Senate committee panel:
He said, “Please, let’s all work together.”]
Reichman: He really helped a lot. The Deaf community came in great numbers and rallied for the support of the Deaf and Blind schools. We also had people from the Blind community come and support us. The senators reached a compromise to pass a four-year bill instead of one or two years. When the bill went back to the House, they passed the four-year bill and now it’s on the governor’s desk awaiting her signature. So we are getting four years instead of eight years.
[End interview]
Alex: Gov. Hobbs signed the four-year continuation bill after the interview. She wrote in a letter that the “ASDB community was treated with a lack of respect…” and was “caught in the middle of political games being played by a fringe minority of the Legislature.”
[Full-screen image showing the letter from Gov. Hobbs with an excerpt that reads, “The ASDB community was treated with a lack of respect and was not given equal access to participate in the legislative process. Parents, students, and teachers were made to worry about the continuing existence of their school while caught in the middle of political games being played by a fringe minority of the Legislature.”]
Alex: Gov. Hobbs said she encourages the legislature to send her a bill next session that includes a full eight-year continuation.
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Alex: Superintendent Reichman said the struggle has caused stress on ASDB students and staff.
[Begin interview]
Reichman: Students were concerned about whether it was true that the school could be closing. There was good reason to feel concerned. I was concerned as well because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. What financial issues? We just had an extensive audit and there were no financial issues here. So what are you talking about? We asked questions but received no responses. They never responded to us. So we still don’t know why. Something is there. We don’t know why. So students were stressed. Their parents as well did become concerned. Our teachers’ contracts for this fall had to be held back for a bit because we weren’t sure if they would have jobs in the fall. It’s impacted our recruiting because we recruit nationwide for teachers. They might not want to move to Arizona. So we’ve had cascading impacts.
Alex: So this could be a reminder to not take it for granted because ASDB could have shut down this July if things didn’t work out with funding. I feel like it’s so fragile.
Reichman: Yes, absolutely. We never envisioned that possibility. It never came up before. This is the first time we’ve experienced this. And it’s a really small group of senators. Just four or five of them. A very small group that almost ruined everything. Why did these senators target ASDB? I have my suspicions, but do I have enough evidence? I don’t have enough so I can’t say what it is. I’m concerned that those senators are not looking at our work, at the audit. They didn’t talk with our teachers, our students, or talk with us. If they asked us questions, we would have been happy to respond. These five senators never met with us. We offered a meeting many times but they never accepted them. Not once.
[End interview]
Alex: Thank you, Superintendent Reichman, for your time and sharing your thoughts. It is a relief that ASDB is here to stay in the near future and again, it’s a reminder that nothing is guaranteed with the existence of deaf school — and blind school — programs across the U.S.