PHOENIX - State lawmakers say they are outraged about an Arizona teacher conference that looks like a taxpayer-funded vacation.
ORIGINAL STORY: Arizona teachers at 4-star resort, and you're paying for itThey say those who took advantage of the system will be held accountable.
The conference was held at a mountainside resort in Tucson earlier this month.
Teachers were there for training, but we spotted dozens of teachers working on their tans - lounging at the pool with family and friends.
Superintendent Tom Horne declined our repeated requests for an on-camera interview.
However, in a statement his spokesperson wrote:
The superintendent believes that if teachers are attending a conference for professional development they should be going to their classes and not going to the pool during that time. As to your questions about district vehicles and whether or not taking their families to a conference is appropriate, that question needs to be addressed by the districts.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Arizona taxpayers are sounding off about the story here on ABC15.com.
Web user
Bsulli1043 writes, "I think every one of those teachers who did not attend the sessions...should be fired for thinking it is okay to do this."
User
Stanley said our reporting is biased, adding that "this investigative report is far short of journalism and nothing less than sensationalism."
Read all the latest comments, and add your own thoughtsWe have contacted every school district for comment.
So far more than 30 have not returned our calls.
MORE: See the original ABC15 Investigation
Statement from the Arizona Department of Education
1. Career and Technical Education is the cornerstone for the preparation of Arizona students in secondary and postsecondary education for careers in High Wage, High Skill and High Demand occupations. To meet mandates under the Federal Carl D. Perkins 4 act, through the U.S. Department of Education, Arizona CTE provides professional development training for teachers from throughout Arizona using federal funding. This training is provided to meet the ever-changing need of business and industry.
2. The professional development training is provided annually at a summer conference when teachers are not in the classroom, thus eliminating the need for substitute teachers. This also eliminates the need of sending professionals from the Department of Education on hundreds of small trips statewide requiring the use of state vehicles, overnight expenses statewide and meeting with small groups of teachers in remote locations throughout Arizona.
3. The conference, attended by 1,500 educators and business and industry, provides over 315 professional development sessions in high tech areas like engineering, bio science, manufacturing, healthcare and automotive technology, is held by the Association for Career and Technical Education in collaboration with CTE.
4. The conference takes place during summer value season at facilities who meet federal per-diem, do not charge for meeting space and provide food and beverage at acceptable federal guidelines. The requirements for space is now in access of 100,000 sq. feet to accommodate all of the industry equipment and other needs for in-service of CTE teachers.
