THOMAS TRASK

• Pima County Elections Candidate Statement:
 

I am Thomas Trask, Clerk of the Tanque Verde Unified School District Governing Board. I am a retired United States Air Force officer, state-licensed educator, business owner, and parent with a child in our schools.  

I ask you to re-elect me on November 3rd.  

    Over the past four years I helped move this Board to governing proactively, with a transparent and deliberative process that leads the district with a long-term strategic plan. That work included aligning the Board around shared culture and ethos, and rewriting our Mission, Vision, Values: “Equip graduates for mastery, founded upon excellence and integrity.”  That standard is how I approach every agenda item.  Through advocacy and my leadership the district secured a multi-year, multi-position +$200,000 security grant.

    Our strategic planning is shaped by stakeholder sessions held at each school, with ongoing participation of parents, teachers, and neighbors. We employ continuous improvement processes in the classrooms because our goal is mastery for every student and support for every team member.  

    Arizona law directs the Board to prescribe curriculum. Over these four years we prescribed a coherent K–8 curriculum sequence so learning builds year to year, while reducing gaps. We reviewed options, gathered stakeholder input, and adopted modern, integrated, evidence-based science and social studies curriculum. In science, we gave teachers vital instructional tools they lacked. In social studies, we selected rigorous, academically focused curriculum that integrates across other subjects, and better prepares our students for high school. Those choices came with extensive teacher support, and saved more than $100,000 in purchases and ongoing costs by using higher-rated open-source materials instead of expensive subscription-style alternatives. 

    Our schools have earned multiple A ratings. Once again, Tanque Verde High School is recognized as Arizona’s top-performing non-admissions public high school. In 2025–26, while achievement fell across Arizona and the nation, TVUSD posted its highest results on the state’s current assessment system. In September 2025 the Board recognized 61 students for perfect or exceptional scores on state assessments. These results rest upon the improvements this Board directed.  

    Arizona does not fund school districts at levels its own statutes require. Unfunded mandates fall on the district budget without help to cover the shortfalls. Those costs must be carried while still recruiting and retaining the strongest, highest-performing team members possible. That is a difficult financial problem, not a slogan; balancing those demands takes much more than good intentions or wild promises. I have managed multimillion-dollar budgets and billion-dollar assets. That experience is why I have consistently supported compensation increases for teachers and staff well above the minimum cost-of-living adjustment, and why I insist that spending stay transparent and tied to students and measurable results.  

    We are doing well, but we are not done.  A second term will address additional curriculum updates, will keep expectations and accountability high, will keep instruction anchored to standards, protect against waste and distractions, and maintain a cohesive governing board.  

I ask for your vote to re-elect me, Thomas Trask, to the TVUSD Governing Board.
 

• Q & A with Arizona Daily Star:
 

Why are you re-running for TV school board?     
     I am running for re-election to the Tanque Verde Unified School District Governing Board because the work of the last four years is not finished, and continuity of leadership matters. We are fortunate to have a cohesive board of accomplished professionals, and I want that work to continue without a reset.
     Over the past four years this Board moved from reacting to leading. We built a shared culture and a long-term strategic plan. I led the Board’s work to rewrite our Vision, Mission, Values, and Goals. These begin with this standard: “Equip graduates for mastery, founded upon excellence and integrity.” That standard guides the District's culture and work, and is the focus of each agenda item.         
    Curriculum is the heart of that work. We researched, compared, and adopted proven materials that include teacher training and support, at a responsible cost, and that vertically aligned from kindergarten through eighth grade. We also wrote the Planned Learning Community process into our Values because it requires demonstrable results while remaining responsive to individual students.       
     The next step is applying the same discipline across other subjects and into the high school. 

Why do you think you’re the most qualified candidate for the position?     
     Voters should judge candidates by evidence and experience, not slogans.       
     I am a retired Air Force officer, a licensed educator, a TVUSD parent, a business owner, and an incumbent who has already done the job. My career has taught me to start with the mission, use measurable results, take care of the people who do the work, maintain accountability, and finish the job. I managed multi-million-dollar budgets and multi-billion-dollar assets, developed curriculum, and commanded a technical training school whose responsibilities resemble governing a school district.       
     My classroom experience taught me what good teaching looks like and how to achieve it. With four years on this Board I am well versed in the intricacies of the District's budget, state and federal funding, staffing, and the statutes that govern what a school board may and must do. That includes the Board’s duty to prescribe curriculum.         
     Qualification is not who can describe a better district in general terms; it is who can show a record of achievement commensurate with the experience necessary to achieve success.  As a Board we set measurable 2030 achievement goals, prescribed curriculum, and practiced fiscal discipline. I did that work with my colleagues, including Beth Peterson, who is also seeking re-election. I am asking voters to return a team that has already proven track record.

What are your thoughts on AI in K-12 education?          
     Students must still learn to read, write, calculate, think, and show their own work. No tool replaces that.         
     AI can help teachers plan and save time, and the District has already trained staff to use it in ways that support instruction. Used carelessly, it lets students skip the learning we are charged to provide.         
     High school students should learn what these tools can and cannot do, and how to use them ethically, in a structured lesson — not as a substitute for their own writing and research. There is still real value in handwritten essays and notes. There is a need for balance in the use of AI in education and this integration requires adult human judgment first. That is our vision in practice: mastery, excellence, and integrity. We should keep human teaching at the core of education; adopt only what improves learning at a defensible cost; and never outsource integrity.

What would be your top three priorities if re-elected? What needs to be fixed?     
     TVUSD is NOT broken; TVUSD is an A-rated district, with A-rated schools, with a 140-year tradition, with a history of exceptional results we can document.
     My three priorities:
     Priority 1. Students and curriculum. The first question we ask as we examine every agenda item is: does this benefit student-learning in a way that coincides with the District’s goals. The Board’s job under Arizona law includes prescribing curriculum, and we have included a curriculum review in our strategic planning. We began our review with the science and social studies programs at the elementary and junior high levels, and we ensured teachers had the support they need to implement the improved instruction materials. We have more to do. Beginning soon is an examination of the English Language Arts program, with math to follow soon thereafter. Then we will apply the same processes to other subjects and other grades.  
      Priority 2. Fiscal responsibility: Every dollar must show a return for students. Our funding originates with tax-payer’s dollars. We must be good stewards of this precious and limited resource. We have a responsibility to manage funds in a way that aligns with the constituent’s priorities. As a Board we also have to deal with significant unfunded mandates from the state. This includes facilities maintenance, buses, and required student support programs. For decades the state has failed to fund schools at a rate commensurate with the realities of expenses, including teacher’s salaries. We focused on recruiting and retaining the best teachers and staff, financial efficiencies, cutting waste and redundancies, and finding grants to augment programs, including +$200,000 for campus security.
     Priority 3. Stakeholders: The community drives the learning.  Students can’t learn without Teachers, Parents, and taxpayers, and we must all work together, towards a common goal to ensure the success of our students. As a Board we listen to our stakeholders. We directed and held district-wide strategic planning sessions at all four campuses that were attended by teachers, staff, parents, community neighbors, and stakeholders. We gathered those inputs and they help to guide the District’s strategic plan and priorities. During board meetings, our agendas are clear and public, our budget decisions are transparent, and our discussions and decisions are public and on the record. We discuss the challenges and examine the tradeoffs of various options, and then make our decisions. We also welcome community input at our regularly scheduled meetings. In short, the Board gathers input, listens to the stakeholders, gives the teachers the tools they need, and gets out of the way so they can teach and focus on our mission priority: the students. 
      Our mission and the way TVUSD does business does not need to be fixed; it is not broken; our student and staff achievements validate this as fact. It is the continued implementation of the Boards goals that require further leadership and attention: complete the curriculum integration and enhancements, keep the budget honest and in touch with the constituents’ priorities, recruit and retain the best teachers and staff possible, and keep the Board focused on the District’s goals. We are not done yet.

 

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