Diane Douglas calls DPS, says board leader grabbed her arm

State schools chief Diane Douglas today reported the president of the Arizona State Board of Education to Department of Public Safety officers, saying he grabbed her arm at a board meeting.

Douglas and board President Greg Miller, who sit next to each other at meetings, quarreled Monday morning over who had the floor during a discussion of board-staff access to teacher-certification documents in the Arizona Department of Education computer system. Board investigators must go to the education building to access the documents instead of being able to read them in their own offices.

"Get your hand off of me," Douglas told Miller as he took the microphone away from her so she could not continue speaking.

It is the second such incident between Douglas and Miller this year. Douglas has filed a lawsuit against Miller and board Executive Director Christine Thompson because she believes she, not Thompson, has the right to hire and fire board staff.

After the meeting, Douglas and her staff filed a report against Miller with the DPS. Officers took her report at Douglas' office this afternoon, her spokesman said.

"She said he grabbed her arm," said Douglas spokesman Charles Tack. "It's bad enough to be verbally admonished at meetings. He (Miller) apparently thinks it is OK to grab her arm."

Miller said after the meeting that he "hit her arm" by accident when trying to take Douglas' microphone away.

"She was out of order," Miller said. He said he had the floor at the meeting and was trying to explain the board's view that its staff should have computer access to the certification documents.