No end in sight for Isaac School Board financial saga
Teachers are planning to head to the State Capitol on Monday after school to try and find a solution for the Isaac School Boards $12-15 million budget shortfall. FOX 10’s Nicole Krasean has the latest.
PHOENIX – The Isaac School District financial crisis saga does not seem to be coming to an end any time soon.
Lots of finger pointing, a high-profile resignation and hundreds of teachers wondering if they’ll get paid leaves the district – not to mention the students – in quite the predicament.
Local perspective:
Families are wondering if the school will end up closing and educators now find themselves stressed about making their mortgages, affording upcoming medical procedures and more.
The list goes on and on.
There are a lot of urgent questions with no clear solutions planned, so far.
“There’s a lot of tears, a lot of hugs, a lot of fear,” said Marisol Garcia, President of the Arizona Education Association (AEA).
The backstory:
Fear is now the feeling directly associated with the Isaac School District Community.
Thousands of households wait for news about how the district will right itself through a $12-15 million budget shortfall.
This week, teachers and parents sounded off at a school board meeting.
What they’re saying:
“The district has left teachers, staff and families in the dark. You have abused your power and taken advantage of your community. You took advantage of their trust. Don’t preach (that) you want the best for your community. If you had wanted the best, this would not have happened,” said one attendee.
“My great-grandchildren are attending school at P T Coe. If something were to happen here and the district closed, where would we go? Where would I go as an employee that is still raising grandchildren?” said another.
Attention turns to the State House for financial relief
“I spoke to the governor this morning who said that she’s asked her staff to make this a priority and work all weekend to work with legislative leadership on both sides of the aisle to make sure that there’s some sort of legislative fix to this immediately,” said Garcia.
As for the teachers, they’re being told to come to work, but the union knows that’s a tough ask if payroll isn’t made.
“We as a union have offered some safety nets,” said Garcia. “We’re working with the city and the county and every non-profit and community ally for what might be some safety nets for them. But they are really gonna have to make hard decisions if they are not paid on Tuesday.”
What we know:
Consumer Affairs ranked Arizona dead last for public education funding in 2024 and Garcia says its a warning other districts should beware of.
“I think that this is really an alarm bell that every district should be looking at and making sure they have really good controls and auditing systems. That they are very open with everything that’s happening because my concern is we will be the first and not the last,” she said. “Let’s hope that we can find a fix, that we can find a road to this never happening again.”
What’s next:
Garcia says educators from the district plan to head to the State House on Monday after the final school bell rings.
They plan to share stories and show the legislature that fixing these problems should be a priority.
