GILBERT, Ariz. – It’s a safe bet that every administrator in Arizona’s Gilbert Public school district knows who Tom and Denise Green are.

The retired Arizona couple manages a watchdog website that chronicles all the wasteful spending practices and allegations of corruption, abuse of power and other misdeeds connected to Gilbert Public Schools, a 38,500-pupil district that’s located about 20 miles southeast of Phoenix.

The Greens’ website – WesternConnections.com – also offers information and practical advice for district employees who feel they’re being unfairly targeted for discipline and termination by school administrators.

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And if the website wasn’t enough to get Gilbert school officials’ attention, they certainly are aware of the Greens’ related blog – WestieConnect.com – that isn’t shy about criticizing school leaders by name and having fun with their alleged misdeeds.

For example, district leaders with an alleged history of sexual misconduct or indiscretion are referred to as the “Loose Zipper Brigade.” Other Gilbert school officials are routinely referred to as members of the “Good Old Boys club,” “the anointed ones,” or “sycophants.”

The Greens’ blog also provides taxpayers with a list of employees who are riding the district’s “gravy train” that’s fueled by questionable spending.

Like we say, every Gilbert Public Schools administrator must know who Tom and Denise Green are.

The couple’s mission of bringing transparency to the district stems from the simple belief that any enterprise with a huge budget and hundreds of employees is prone to waste and corruption and in need of scrutiny. With a $297 million budget for the current school year, Gilbert Public Schools definitely qualifies.

“We spent almost 40 years combined in the U.S. Air Force, so we feel a strong sense of responsibility to the public,” Denise Green tells EAGnews. “It hurts our souls to see people partying on the public dime and squandering tax dollars.”

But there’s another – more personal reason – the Greens are committed to bringing transparency and accountability to the district.

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In Nov. 2011, their daughter, Sarah Green, was placed on paid leave from her third-grade teaching job with the Gilbert district over charges that she acted unprofessionally in a meeting with the school’s principal and a student’s parents by reminding the principal of their agreement to transfer the student to a different class.

The following month, administrators began the process of firing Green, despite a stellar employment record that dated back to 2005.

The Greens contend the district manufactured the charge of “unprofessional conduct” against Sarah – a very serious charge that makes a teacher virtually unhireable by any other school – as retaliation for exposing race- and gender-identity-based bullying that was being perpetuated by a student in her classroom.

“It was malicious,” Denise says.

Bullying leads to bigger problems

The Greens say their daughter’s troubles with Gilbert school officials began in 2010. Sarah was teaching English language learners, and some of the bullying behavior she reported to school officials was tinged with race and national origin discrimination.

They say Sarah’s decision to issue a written report in early 2011 about the bullying incidents caused big problems for Gilbert administrators because the district was already being monitored by the federal government in the wake of two other charges that students faced discrimination and harassment, on the basis of their race, religion, national origin and/or disabilities.

Sarah had also reported that a co-worker had received unfair treatment due to her ethnicity and national origin.

Denise says those incidents were “the genesis” of Sarah’s problems with Gilbert administrators.

According to the Greens, Gilbert administrators based their decision to fire Sarah for “unprofessional conduct” because she failed to conceal her anger during a meeting with her principal and the alleged bully’s parents. They claim district administrators exaggerated Sarah’s behavior to justify their decision to get rid of her, which came in Dec. 2011.

Sarah officially left the district at the end of the 2012, though the matter is far from settled. Sarah is still trying to get a name-clearing hearing which, if successful, would remove the stigma of “unprofessional conduct” charge and allow her to continue with her teaching career.

Sarah has already scored some significant legal and moral victories. Most notably, in late 2012 a former school board member issued a public apology to her and said the charges against her were motivated by “retaliation.”

‘Watching the cockroaches run’

The Greens have helped Sarah in her fight with the district from the beginning, not only because she’s their daughter, but also because they witnessed some of the disputed incidents first-hand. Tom and Denise served as volunteers and substitutes in the Gilbert district – often in Sarah’s classroom – but were “constructively discharged” when their daughter’s legal troubles began.

During their involvement with Sarah’s legal tussle with the district, which is now in its third year, the couple says they’ve had their eyes opened as to how school districts operate. They now believe the vices associated with corporate America – greed, deception, inter-office politics and character assassination – are alive and well in public education, too.

For example, the Greens say Gilbert officials have stonewalled Sarah’s open records requests for documents and emails relating to her legal fight with the district, and only provided some of them after a public records lawsuit was filed.

They also believe administrators misrepresent the district’s financial condition, even while spending significant sums on themselves for conferences “in party towns.”

While the Greens’ primary focus is on the district, the local teachers union – the Gilbert Education Association – hasn’t escaped their attention. They say union leaders often work “hand-in-glove” with administrators to get rid of teachers, instead of representing the dues-paying educators to the best of their ability.

The couple started WesternConnections.com (the name has no significance) as a way of shining a light on the district’s practices – not just as it relates to Sarah’s situation. On the site, they post documents they’ve received from the district through open records requests. They also record and upload Gilbert school board meetings to help other taxpaying residents keep tabs on what’s going on in the district.

“We’re just shining a light and watching the cockroaches run,” Denise says.

District employees are the Greens’ biggest fans

The Greens say the Gilbert community has, by and large, embraced their effort. Their biggest audience is school district employees, some of whom send in tips for the Greens to investigate, while others offer insights to help the Greens understand why Gilbert leaders made certain decisions.

They also work with other bloggers to help get the reform message out to as many people as possible.

“We don’t endorse candidates or take political positions (on tax votes),” Tom says. “We’re just showing the community what’s being done in the name of the kids.”

It can’t be a complete coincidence, however, that since the Greens have taken on their role as watchdogs that only one school board member has been reelected. According to the Greens, the new school board is considerably more conservative than previous boards, and Gilbert administrators no longer have a rubber-stamp school board like they previously did.

Nor can it be a complete coincidence that three high-ranking school officials have announced their retirement during the WesternConnections.com-era, including former Superintendent Dave Allison.

“We just hope the housecleaning continues,” Denise adds.

The website has helped introduce the Greens to frustrated educators and taxpayers in other districts and states who are facing similar problems with the “educartel” in their school systems. The couple offers advice where they can, though sometimes all they can offer is a sympathetic ear.

The couple also runs an Internet company, so collecting district information and uploading it onto their website takes most of their free time. They work hard to get their facts straight, and refuse to identify students. They say they’ve never been accused by a school district official of publishing anything untruthful.

“We put a lot of time into the website, but it’s worth it,” Denise says. “We’ve made a lot of friends and forged new alliances. The district leaders don’t like suddenly being held accountable, but that’s what the Gilbert school district needed. It really has to be about the kids.”