A long-time Arizona legislator is calling on his state to add more protections to schools in response to a near-tragedy earlier this month.
Late last week, State Senator David Farnsworth issued a statement following a school safety incident in southern Arizona, where an off-duty officer in Tucson, who was serving as a school resource officer, detained an armed man who had been threatening children in the gymnasium at Legacy Traditional School East. The Republican-led Arizona Legislature has increasingly prioritized school safety efforts around the state to ensure that students, teachers, and other employees are protected from potential harms.
In recent years, the Arizona Legislature created the School Safety Program within the State Department of Education, which “support[s], promote[s], and enhance[s] safe and effective learning environments for all students by supporting the cost of placing school resource officers, juvenile probation officers, school counselors, and school social workers on school campuses.” According to information provided by the department, this program “is a competitive, state-funded grant that runs in three-year cycles.”
Senator Farnsworth said, “I applaud the Tucson School District for obtaining the grant and working in conjunction with local law enforcement to hire the off-duty Tucson Police Officer that saved the lives of the children and faculty present that day. We cannot continue to leave classrooms open with easy access for predators. We must come together as a community and encourage school districts to apply for the grant and put measures into place that protect the safety of students and school faculty. I am committed to working with stakeholders, school boards, and the Legislature to prioritize school safety legislation that safeguards Arizona schools from threats.”
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne, added, “Only the heroic actions of the school resource officer, William Bonanno, prevented a catastrophe. He undoubtedly saved lives because of his incredible professionalism in that he was experienced enough to act quickly rather than wait for backup. The presence of an armed officer has sadly become a crucial element of campus safety, and this incident proves that beyond a doubt. The heroism of this officer means that more than 20 families have not experienced the tragic death or injury to an innocent child. As a parent who has suffered the loss of a child, I can tell you that you never get over it.”
Lawmakers will continue to work on solutions to increase security for the state’s schools in this current legislative session – especially with the potential near-miss in southern Arizona.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) passed a resolution declaring its right to refuse entry to federal immigration officials on school grounds.
During a special meeting last Friday, the PXU Governing Board unanimously passed its “Safe Zone Resolution” which designated PXU as a “Safe Zone.”
Under this “Safe Zone” designation, the governing board claimed, PXU officials reserve the right to deny Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entry to any campus.
The governing board required ICE — as well as any state or local law enforcement agencies acting for ICE — to submit a request to Superintendent Thea Andrade or her designee for review. PXU asserted that Andrade or her designee had the authority to review whether each requested instance of campus access by immigration enforcement would be permitted by law or would require a judicial warrant.
Similarly, PXU required immigration enforcement agents to go through Andrade’s office to request student information.
PXU further claimed in its resolution that their district doesn’t maintain any data relating to students’ immigration status, characterizing the distinction as “potentially discriminatory” and “irrelevant” to education. The district declared that all students “regardless of immigration status” had a right to free public K-12 classrooms, even claiming that illegal alien minors had “other legal grounds for presence” in the country. The district resolution didn’t clarify what those were.
“[F]ederal immigration law enforcement activities, on or around District property and transportation routes, whether by surveillance, interview, demand for information, arrest, detention, or any other means, harmfully disrupt the learning environment to which all students, regardless of immigration status, are entitled and significantly interfere with the ability of all students, including U.S. citizen students and students who hold other legal grounds for presence in the U.S., to access a free public K-12 education,” stated the resolution.
The resolution was submitted before the board for approval by PXU general counsel, Eileen D. Fernandez.
Fernandez formerly served as the associate general counsel for Orange County Public Schools from 2010 to 2021.
The Trump administration has already indicated its intent to bring accountability to those who hinder immigration enforcement efforts.
The day after Trump’s inauguration last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an internal memo warning that all laws and actions “that threaten to impede” the Trump administration’s immigration initiatives were to be considered threats to public safety and national security.
The DOJ directed its Civil Division within the Office of the Associate Attorney General to identify and take legal action against state and local laws, policies, and activities serving as noncompliance to the Trump administration’s immigration initiative.
That memo also launched investigations into state or local law enforcement officials believed to be interfering with immigration enforcement.
“[I]n the absence of unusual facts, prosecutorial discretion at the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices is bounded by the core principle that prosecutors should charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offenses,” stated the memo from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.
Bove’s memo declared that all state and local actors were required by the Constitution and federal law to comply with Trump’s immigration enforcement initiatives. The DOJ said that noncompliance would trigger federal investigations and, likely, prosecutions.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing, and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests pursuant to, for example, the President’s extensive Article II authority with respect to foreign affairs and national security, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Alien Enemies Act,” stated the memo.
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In a recent report, the Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSI) addressed the gradual slowing of enrollment in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program and traditional public school classrooms. The report shows that despite narratives for one or the other, the decline in both can be explained quite directly as a matter of demographics and parental choice.
In a press release issued Monday, CSI explained, “Headlines about declining enrollment and the subsequent financial struggles this creates in Arizona’s public schools have caught the state’s attention. However, CSI’s data shows this shift was inevitable, driven by dramatic demographic changes and a shift in enrollment preferences during the pandemic.”
Among CSI’s findings, it found that the school-age population of Arizona peaked in 2021 and is projected to decrease by 40,000 by 2028, heavily impacting an educational system which was structurally predicated on the assumption of a continually growing population.
CSI added, “The 2012 kindergarten cohort—the state’s largest ever—is now preparing to graduate. Future K-12 enrollment is not expected to grow in the foreseeable future.”
Arizona’s Public School Enrollment Decline: No Surprise
CSI research shows Arizona’s K-12 demographic shift has been years in the making: 📉 School-aged population peaked in 2021 🎓 The largest kindergarten class (2012) is now preparing to graduate 👶 By 2028, the school-aged… pic.twitter.com/u5rbGnVLFp
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) January 28, 2025
CSI observed further that during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Arizona’s public schools lost 50,000 enrolled students from 2020-2021. Only 18,000 of those students re-enrolled in charter schools with the remaining approximate 32,000 otherwise unaccounted for. It is likely that this number presents a combination of expanded home schooling, relocation out of Arizona, and even enrollment in private schools. Indeed, the report indicates that private school enrollment spiked by 33% over that period with homeschooling experiencing a surge from 2% of the total student population to 11%, and settling back to 6% as of today.
Glenn Farley, CSI Arizona’s Director of Policy and Research summarized, “Arizona’s classrooms are entering a new era. The numbers have been clear for years: the system built for growth has reached its peak. Moving forward, policymakers must adapt to a smaller, more diverse student population and rethink how we allocate resources.”
Arizona’s Public School Enrollment Decline is No Surprise According to the Common Sense Institute Arizona–
— Common Sense Institute Arizona (@CSInstituteAZ) January 28, 2025
The CSI report noted the effect on budgetary considerations has been extreme. “Declining public school enrollments since 2020 reduced public K-12 funding formula costs by an estimated $450 million/year, and growing, compared to pre-pandemic trends. Since last year, the universal ESA program has returned these ‘missing kids’ to the public K-12 rolls – reinvesting prior ‘savings’ into education.”
The ESA, a subject of controversy in the state legislature, has reached a “steady state” according to CSI, with the recent period of rapid growth unlikely to be repeated and future increases owing almost exclusively to parental and student choice.
CSI concluded, “Demographic changes likely mean fewer school-aged children and lower overall enrollment across Arizona’s publicly funded K-12 options over the next ten years. And ultimately it is this demographic change, and pandemic-era changes in parental behavior that are changing K-12 in Arizona – and not-so-much universal ESA itself.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Governor Katie Hobbs’ repeated attacks on ESAs have centered primarily on the narrative of the program alternately being “rife with waste, fraud and abuse,” being costly to the state budget, and calling for a repeal of the popular program.
One Arizona legislator is attempting to ensure that students attending the state’s community colleges have what they need to succeed at school and with their future endeavors.
Last week, Senate Education Chairman David Farnsworth announced that he would be “launching a series of virtual workgroup meetings to examine the role community colleges play in workforce development and higher education.”
Farnsworth, a Republican, decided to enact these group discussions as a part of “his commitment to ensuring that state taxpayer dollars used to fund educational institutions are truly equipping students for success.”
In a statement that accompanied his announcement, Farnsworth said, “Arizona has transformed tremendously since I attended Mesa Community College as a student. I’m curious to find out whether our community college system still adequately prepares students for the real world today. Taxpayers should have confidence in knowing the funds community colleges are receiving from the State are translating into reliable pathways to upward economic mobility for those students who do not attend four-year universities.”
Senator Farnsworth added, “With the information I gather through these workgroup meetings, I hope to improve the community college system through potential legislation that will benefit all Arizona students.”
Those involved in the workgroups will work together to address three questions of significance for this industry. The first is, “What is the role of community colleges in the landscape of higher education in Arizona?” The second is, “What is the State of Arizona’s obligation to community colleges?” And the third is, “Do the current governance and funding models of community colleges support the answers to the questions above?”
Senator Farnsworth was just sworn into another term at the Arizona Legislature when it convened last Monday for the start of the 57th Regular Session. In addition to his position as the chairman of the Education Committee, Farnsworth serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he is a member of the Government, Regulatory Affairs and Government Efficiency, and Ethics Committees.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne praised the heroic actions of Tucson Police Officer William Bonanno, deployed under a Department of Education program to Legacy Traditional School-East Tucson, after he was able to arrest armed suspect Daniel Hollander, 31. Hollander was reported by parents for “acting erratically” in the school parking lot and was arrested, armed with a knife and loaded handgun.
In a statement published by KVOA following the arrest, Horne told reporters, “Today we avoided the nightmare of an armed maniac harming innocent people on a school campus. The School Safety Officer who sought out and arrested this suspect deserves the highest praise. His presence on campus is due to funding provided by the School Safety Program managed by my department and demonstrates the value of this program so that incidents like this do not become tragedies.”
In a post to X, Horne wrote, “The School Safety Program helped save the lives of innocent children yesterday. Thank you to the School Resource Officer for helping to avert tragedy. I will fight to have an SRO on every campus to keep students safe.”
The School Safety Program helped save the lives of innocent children yesterday. Thank you to the School Resource Officer for helping to avert tragedy. I will fight to have an SRO on every campus to keep students safe. https://t.co/QmystFhVBX
In an article from the Arizona Department of Education, Horne said that the actions of Officer Bonanno saved the lives of 20 students and saved their parents from having their lives ruined by the grief that would have resulted. He emphasized that the narrowly-averted tragedy serves to demonstrate the need for Arizona lawmakers to take action and fund more armed officers on school campuses, while calling upon them to ramp up criminal penalties for suspects entering school grounds with intent to injure or kill innocent people.
Horne said:
“For years, I have been pushing for more police officers in the schools, saying repeatedly that if a maniac Invades a school and kills 20 students as has happened in other states and could happen here, their parents would never recover. If they learned that the school could have had a police officer to defend their children funded by the Department of Education, and decided not to, you can imagine what they would feel about that decision making. By the skin of our teeth, we avoided that nightmare by a police officer, newly funded by the Department of Education annually, on the job arresting a man who was in a room with 20 students and additional adults, who said that he was going to make the students immortal by killing all of them.”
He added, “Only the heroic actions of the School Safety Officer, William Bonanno, prevented a catastrophe. He undoubtedly saved lives because of his incredible professionalism in that he was experienced enough to act quickly rather than wait for backup. The presence of an armed officer has sadly become a crucial element of campus safety, and this incident proves that beyond a doubt. The heroism of this officer means that more than 20 families have not experienced the tragic death or injury to an innocent child. As a parent who has suffered the loss of a child, I can tell you that you never get over it.”
“We cannot allow the status quo where not enough schools have armed officers to continue. More funding for officers and legislation that allows retired officers to become School Safety Officers or Resource Officers should be passed. Representative Matt Gress is sponsoring such a bill, HB 2074, which has passed the House Education Committee. It needs to be fast-tracked through the legislature and signed by the governor as soon as possible because, as we saw yesterday, lives are at stake.”
As reported by AZCentral, Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar told a Thursday presser that Officer Bonanno discovered Hollander sitting in the school gymnasium talking to himself. Not long before, students had filled the gymnasium waiting for classes to start. The Chief revealed that Hollander admitted he had been using narcotics for “several days” and admitted he was at the school with the intent to harm children.
“I can tell you with the preliminary history of this individual, it wouldn’t have been somebody that was probably on our radar,” Kasmar added.
Horne is urging the legislature to pass House Bill 2074, which is now out of committee, in order to push more funding out to districts to fund additional School Safety Officers.
State Rep. Matt Gress who sponsored HB 2074 said in a statement, “What happened in Tucson yesterday was an act of heroism that nearly became a terrible tragedy. Lives were saved because an armed officer was doing his job at the Legacy East campus. This proves that, sadly, no space is entirely safe, and we must do everything we can to protect innocent lives. My legislation will do that, and I call on all my colleagues, regardless of political affiliation, to get this bill passed, and I also call on Governor Hobbs to sign this bill when it reaches her desk. It is an essential, non-partisan issue that needs immediate attention.”
The Arizona State Board of Education (AZSBE) placed a Phoenix-area school district into receivership over mismanagement of funds.
Isaac Elementary School District (IESD) had a budget shortfall amounting to over $12.3 million, which included over $9.3 million in unrestricted capital and nearly $3 million in maintenance and operations.
In a special meeting held earlier this week, AZSBE voted unanimously to place IESD into receivership.
🚨🚨BREAKING NOW – EMERGENCY MEETING OF AZ STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION – BANKRUPT SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH $12,344,641 BUDGET SHORTFALL TO GO INTO RECEIVERSHIP ▶️ Auditor General presents SBE on timeline of overspending and refusals to comply with internal controls and financial… pic.twitter.com/CGCzhswztt
— TheLegalProcess (v3.0 | Instruction Not Therapy) (@ALegalProcess) January 14, 2025
The auditor general’s office reported during the special meeting that IESD remained among the highest risk districts since December 2020. IESD was also determined to present consistently high risks in change in weighted student count, budget limit reserve, and their financial position.
Despite five years of meetings with IESD to assist with improvements on its deficit general fund balance and loss in student-count-generated revenues, the auditor general’s office reported that their efforts failed to yield improvements.
In a letter to AZSBE last month, the auditor general reported that Maricopa County School Superintendent’s Office and ADE were unable to determine IESD overexpenditure amounts due to IESD submitting an annual financial report for the 2024 fiscal year that was “unreliable and inaccurate.” The auditor general further reported that IESD improperly moved millions of dollars in expenditures into certain funds lacking sufficient cash to support spending, causing those funds to report millions in deficits.
IESD Superintendent Mario Ventura said the auditor general’s findings were “shocking” to him and the school board. Ventura claimed that the 2024 fiscal year was the first time that their district had overspent. Ventura said that the loss of key personnel resulted in their overspending: the district’s grant specialist and two business managers. Ventura also claimed that the rush to spend federal relief funds caused the district to become lax on spending controls.
IESD argued in the special meeting that the outcome of November elections, specifically a proposed bond, could provide an alternative remedy to receivership.
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) referred IESD to AZSBE for the funds mismanagement.
ADE submitted a letter to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education last week advising that IESD failed to submit its completion report for federal COVID-19 relief funds by the end of December 2023. This resulted in IESD forfeiting nearly $8.9 million which they had spent but not requested reimbursement. Therefore, ADE petitioned the Department of Education to open the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to reimburse IESD.
“Because these expenditures were not reimbursed before the end of the liquidation period, the Isaac Elementary School District was required to find other sources of funds to cover these expenditures,” stated ADE Chief Financial Officer Tim McCain. “The overall result of this has been that the Isaac School District is in deep financial hardship that may result in teachers not being paid their salaries to instruct students in the school district.”
Maricopa County Treasurer John Allen warned that IESD staff and educators should deposit or cash any existing paychecks, expressing insecurity over the county’s ability to keep IESD schools open. Allen said that payments would stop in a week’s time.
“I don’t have the money,” said Allen. “It’s not a county responsibility to keep schools open, it’s a state responsibility. I wish I had better news from my office to the constituents of that district.”
Once appointed, a receiver will have 120 days to investigate and submit a report to AZSBE on how to improve IESD finances and a timeline for solvency.
IESD says its day-to-day operations will continue as usual under the receivership.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
