'Annie lives in Rochester, she wants to be part of the community, and loves her job'

ROCHESTER - While questions swirl around why the Rochester school board hasn't delivered its decision on whether Annie Azarloza should remain its superintendent, one city resident whose put three children through SAU 54 schools said the vast majority of the Rochester school community is firmly in her corner.
"I want her to stay, she wants to stay and the community wants her to stay," said Tracy Walbridge.
Azarloza has been on paid administrative leave since February, less than a year after she was hired.
A March 29 email obtained by The Rochester Voice sent by School Board chair Shane Downs to board members stated that "While the investigation into (Azarloza) is complete, the matter has not yet reached a final resolution, and it remains an open personnel matter."
The fact that it still remains nonpublic more than a month later, even to the school board, is troubling to many, including Walbridge.
"Retaliation is real in our community," she said. "We're watching in real time the weaponization and retaliation against Annie for doing her job. She's fighting for the people in the community who don't have the means to protect them from the government. This is why we have distrust."
School board chair Shane Downs, a Rochester Police patrol officer, is at the center of the storm, after coming under fire for signing a memorandum of understanding between the Rochester Police Department and the school department that lists "best practices" as mutually agreed to by both parties that gives deference to police in how to handle all "criminal acts" in Rochester schools.

A petition for Downs' removal accuses him of "pushing for criminal charges against special needs children--a step that is not only harsh and unjust but fundamentally misconstrues the role of educational leadership. This also violates Federal laws," the petition states.
The MOU was passed on a voice vote at the school board's March meeting after Downs said it had been sent down by the state and the school board could do nothing to change it. "There's nothing we can do about it," he said prior to getting a unanimous voice vote to approve the MOU.
Part of the MOU states that all school and disciplinary policies "are not intended to nor shall it usurp the mandates and responsibilities of the School Resource Officer, the Rochester Police Department and the Attorney Generals Office."
The MOU was signed in March by Rochester Police Chief Gary Boudreau, Downs, and Rochester Schools Assistant Supt. Allison Bryant, who will soon be leaving to become the assistant superintendent in Exeter.
Many in the Rochester school community see Downs' position as having a clear conflict of interest, but Boudreau told the Rochester Voice earlier this month he doesn't see it that way, because Downs is not a school resource officer.
Meanwhile, a petition to reinstate Azarloza circulating online says that "despite a completed investigation the school board has refused to share the results with the public and they continue delaying her return, withholding transparency, and blocking the leader who was driving real, legal, and student-centered reform."
It concludes "Annie stood up for children's rights. She ensured compliance with state and federal law. She brought compassion, courage, and integrity to a district that desperately needed it. Now, it's time for the community to stand up for her."
Azarloza backers hope they can get some answers at Thursday's school board meeting at Rochester City Hall. The full agenda is not online as of today.
Walbridge, who recently met Azarloza out and about in Rochester, said she was surprised to learn the school's superintendent lives in the Lilac City unlike many other city officials who hold high positions in city leadership yet live elsewhere.
"Annie lives in Rochester, she wants to be part of the community, and she loves her job," Walbridge said.
To see the petition to reinstate Azarloza click here.
To see the petition to remove Downs click here.