Arizona Board of Education to meet, discuss Diane Douglas options
Feb 13, 2015, 6:37 AM | Updated: 10:00 am
PHOENIX — The Arizona Board of Education will be meeting Friday in a special gathering to go over legal options regarding schools chief Diane Douglas.
Earlier in the week, Douglas, the superintendent of public instruction, fired two education board members.
When they were reinstated by Gov. Doug Ducey, Douglas publicly accused the governor of overreaching.
In his reversal, Ducey had said Douglas had no legal right to fire Executive Director Christine Thompson and Sabrina Vazquez on Wednesday.
The 11-member Arizona Board of Education operates independently of the superintendent, who is an elected official.
The governor’s lawyers cited state law, legal precedent and concerns over the
constitutional separation of powers in overturning the firings, spokesman Daniel
Scarpinato said.
Several of the state’s former superintendents of public schools have drafted a letter supporting Ducey’s position on how much power the education boss’ office holds.
As a member of the board, Douglas can attend the meeting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.