Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Ajo, Pima County, Arizona
YOUR
HOMETOWN
NEWSPAPER
SINCE 1916
Volume 96, Number 47 ©2020
School holding virtual town hall
on the start of fall classes
Applicants sought for
vacant seat on school board
With the recent death of longtime Ajo school board member Rose
Cameron, her seat is now vacant. With elections approaching, there was
a possibility the seat, which expires this year, would be left vacant un-
til after the elections. However, current board members felt that hav-
ing only four members during this tumultuous time in education could
lead to tie votes and urged Pima County School Superintendent Dustin
Williams to make an interim appointment. He is seeking applicants to
complete that term.
There are five candidates running for three seats on the board, includ-
ing that left vacant by Cameron’s death, and only one, Windy Robertson,
is an incumbent. None of the other four – Eric Krznarich, Dan Morales,
Lonnie Guthrie, and Paula Ramirez – can be named to fill the empty seat
while running for election. That means the person appointed will serve
only through December 31 of this year.
Applications from those interested in serving are due by Monday,
July 27, at 5 p.m. For information about requirements and how to apply,
see the ad on page 3 of this issue or visit schools.pima.gov.
For further information, contact Matt Stamp at the Pima County
School Superintendent’s Office at 520-724-8454 or by email matthew.
stamp@pima.gov.
Quitobaquito flow &water level fell further
A researcher held a Sonoyta mud turtle hatchling. The Quitobaquito pond, where water levels
are dropping, is the only place in the US where this species of turtle naturally lives. (NPS photo)
According to monitoring devic-
es at Quitobaquito, the flow rate of
the springs that feed the pond has
fallen by over 30% since March
from 10.65 gallons per minute to
just 7.33. The level of water in the
pond has also dropped.
The changes have raised con-
cerns among conservationists and
community members about the
cause of the drop and what can be
done about it.
Quitobaquito is located near the
US/Mexico border in the Organ
Pipe Cactus National Monument
and is managed by the National
Park Service.
The pumping of millions of
gallons of groundwater for the
border wall project has been
criticized as a threat to the pond
by conservation groups like the
Sierra Club. Frank Torres, the
NPS chief of interpretation & visi-
tor services at the monument, said
last week that diminishing water
in the Quitobaquito spring has a
long history.
“Seasonally, the water fluctu-
ates naturally and is dependent
on rainfall and spring flow,” he
said. “Long-term trends, begin-
ning in the 1970s, have shown a
steady decline in the spring flow
that leads into the pond. Increased
temperatures and low humidity
also lead to increased evaporation
from the pond and evapotranspira-
tion from nearby vegetation.”
He said the NPS measured the
spring flowing at around 30 gal-
lons per minute in the 1990s, add-
ing that has reduced to around 9
today.
Construction of the wall also
requires heavy traffic on a re-
cently widened dirt road just 200
feet from the pond. Contractors
have started digging trenches for
the installation of an electric grid
to power lights on the wall, rais-
ing concern over whether the con-
struction work is damaging the
ponds structure and ability to hold
the reduced water it does get.
“Vibrations may pose a pos-
sible effect,” he said. “But this is
inconclusive.” He added, how-
ever, “In anticipation of this pos-
sibility, the NPS requested slower
speed limits and use of water to
keep dust from blowing into the
pond and these requests have been
implemented.” He said that the
construction company, Southwest
Valley Constructors, have com-
plied with the requests, reduc-
ing speed through the area to 10
mph, and wetting the road near the
pond.
“Quitobaquito pond has a clay
liner and earthen embankment
that creates the pond, which re-
quire continuous upkeep,” said
Torres. “The last time the NPS did
any major work to the pond and
containment system was in 1962.”
Since around 2006, the pond
suffered several leaks that park
staff continue to address. Many
kinds of damage to the clay liner
can cause leaks. “Leaks are caused
by vegetation, rotting roots, and
small structural failures that all
contribute to water loss,” said
Torres.
He said NPS staff have no-
ticed an area of the earthen berm
that holds water in the pond “that
is showing signs of subsidence,
which is an indication water may
be moving through that area. NPS
will be attempting to prevent wa-
ter loss in that targeted area to test
whether or not leaks are occurring
by placing sand bags and pond
liner to seal the area and then use
more clay to provide a better seal
if needed.”
The pond and springs that
feed it are home to the endan-
gered Quitobaquito pupfish
(Cyprinodoneremus), and the
Sonoyta mud turtle (Kinosternon
sonoriense longifemorale). The
springs have supported human
The Ajo Unified School
District is holding a virtual town
hall on Facebook Live to provide
information and answer questions
about how school will start next
month. The session will be held on
Facebook Live this Wednesday,
July 22, at 4 p.m. through their
page. Information may be on their
Facebook page and at their web-
site www.ajoschools.org.
The district invites questions to
be submitted by email either to an-
gelina@ajoschools.org or to led-
lund@ajoschools.org by Tuesday
morning.
“We will not be having a physi-
cal attendance option for the town
hall,” said Principal Leonard
Edlund, “because we are trying
to respect the no physical atten-
dance at schools direction of the
Governor. We will make every at-
tempt to respond to questions that
are submitted during the session,
so long as they apply as general
questions and are not individual
based (those will be responded to
directly after the meeting).”
Though the state could still
order changes due to the pan-
demic, the current Ajo plan calls
for school to start with distance
learning on August 10 with two-
day a week in-person classes
starting August 24. Students will
be assigned to Monday-Thursday
classes or Tuesday-Friday classes.
Parents may also opt for complete
distance learning. Wednesdays
will be used for additional tutoring
for students and teacher training.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to some frequently
asked questions are found on the
school’s website:
Do we have a choice on how
our students attend school this
year? Yes. You may choose ei-
ther the A/B schedule (2 days a
week on campus and 3 days on-
line at home) or a 100% Distance
Learning (online at home - with
additional teacher support avail-
able each Wednesday).
Is there a set curriculum for
online learning this year? Yes.
Our students will be using the
Edgenuity curriculum which will
provide full courses that are fully
aligned to meet Arizona state stan-
dards.
Can students change from
100% online to A/B schedule or
vice versa? Yes. Families will be
able to change their choice each
quarter, with a minimum of 1
week notice to the school office.
What if we don’t have enough
computers for our students to do
online schooling? The school can
provide the family with the loan
of computers for students to use
during the school year (for school
purposes only).
Will teachers be available
to work with our students? Yes.
While we at least start with all
students online - Teachers will
be available for daily ZOOM ses-
sions and conversations during
the scheduled class time slot to
answer questions and provide sup-
port. Once our A/B option starts,
teachers will be available during
their scheduled planning period to
return emails to off-campus stu-
dents and will also be available on
Wednesday to work with students
who need additional support or
have chosen the 100% distance
learning option.
Will Special Services students
continue to receive support? Yes.
The Special Education staff will
work with each General Education
teacher to modify the curricu-
lum/ courses to meet the IEP
(Individualized Educational Plan)
requirements for each student. We
will continue to offer the therapies
through contracted providers.
Will students be required to
wear masks? Multi-part Answer:
Bus: Yes. Students will be re-
quired to wear masks on the bus.
On Campus: If students are within
6 feet of another person, they will
be required to wear a mask.
Will there be Health Screenings
every day? Yes. Parents will fol-
low the health screening proto-
cols at home. Bus drivers will
also take students tempera-
ture prior to boarding the bus.
Teachers will also take each stu-
dents temperature before they
enter the classroom every morn-
ing. (Temperature must be below
100.4°F.)
If we are awaiting a Covid-19
test result, do we need to stay
home? Yes. Until the test result re-
turns as Negative.
If a person tests positive, how
long do they need to stay quaran-
tined? Until they have received
clearance from a medical profes-
sional that they are ready to return.
If a teacher or student tests
positive will the school campus
close? At least part of the school
would be required to close for a
period of 2-5 days. Depending on
exposure, it may be limited to one
classroom or it could include the
full campus.
Do we have all the answers?
No. As you can imagine, this is a
fluid plan that continues to change
almost daily. However, we want
to provide options to our commu-
nity, while attempting to maintain
safety for our students, staff, and
their extended families.
INSIDE:
Election information
pages 4 & 6
and wildlife migration and habi-
tation for thousands of years. To
prevent the loss of that habitat, in-
tervention may be needed.
Torres said the NPS is watch-
ing the situation at the pond and
exploring future restorative ef-
forts.
“Our best course of action is
to carefully monitor and only re-
spond as needed to sustain these
species while performing any nec-
essary repairs and to continue to
plan and prepare for a future long-
term restoration.” He said, “These
species can tolerate a substantial
amount of change throughout the
year and we allow the system to
experience these changes, similar
to what they experience in their
more natural habitat within the
Rio Sonoyta drainage. Fish and
turtles can withstand great fluctua-
tions in water levels, temperature,
salinity, and turbidity associated
with storm events. If water levels
drop low enough to potentially
cause harm to wildlife, we can
trap and move them to more stable
reaches of the system upstream of
the pond.”
