The Chandler Unified School District Governing Board has moved the implementation of a land acknowledgment policy to its September 9 meeting, ending a contentious discussion during its August 19 session. The proposed plan involves playing a video and reading a statement before every board gathering and all school graduations.
The debate intensified when board member Kurt Rohrs announced his intention to leave the dais to speak as a private taxpayer rather than an official. Board President Patti Serrano warned him that the state Attorney General’s office had previously deemed such behavior inappropriate. Rohrs proceeded regardless, stating he would not be intimidated.
Serrano noted that the district has been developing a policy for some time, with plans to begin the practice on September 9. The protocol includes a one-minute and 43-second video available on the district’s indigenous education page and a specific statement acknowledging the ancestral lands of the Piipaash, Akimel O’odham, Gila River, Salt River, Pima, Maricopa, and Yaqui tribes.
Rohrs argued from the audience that the decision was arbitrary and lacked board approval. He claimed the practice could be viewed as a political performance unrelated to student academics and potentially violated state statutes regarding the withholding of up to 10% of monthly state aid.
Serrano countered that land acknowledgments do not focus on race or ethnicity and cited other Arizona entities, including public universities, that have implemented similar practices without penalty.
