by Jonathan Eberle | Nov 10, 2025 | Education, News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Voters in the Tolleson Union High School District decisively rejected two funding measures last week, signaling a sharp reversal from past election outcomes and raising new questions about public trust in district leadership.
Both a proposed bond and budget override failed by wide margins, marking what state leaders are calling a significant shift in community sentiment. According to Arizona State Representative Matt Gress, who chairs the House Education Committee and co-chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, the margin represents an estimated 40-point swing from the district’s last round of voter-approved measures.
“That kind of reversal doesn’t happen by chance,” Gress said in a statement. “It reflects taxpayers’ deep concern over how their money is being managed and the direction of district leadership.”
The vote comes as the district faces ongoing scrutiny from lawmakers over financial transparency. Gress first requested detailed financial transaction data from Tolleson Union on August 26 following a legislative audit hearing. The district declined to provide electronic records and instead issued an estimate exceeding $26,000 to fulfill the request. A follow-up clarification was sent on September 17, and as of last week the district had not complied.
Gress said the lack of cooperation has only fueled public skepticism. He pointed to delayed responses to official requests and continued planning for an $80 million domed stadium as examples of misplaced priorities, particularly as some governing board members face an active recall effort.
“When a school district refuses to provide basic financial records to the Legislature … public trust deteriorates quickly,” he said. “The Tolleson Union Governing Board should halt any further work on the stadium until transparency is restored and confidence is rebuilt.”
Supporters of the failed measures argued the additional funding was needed to maintain educational programs, address facility needs, and manage enrollment growth. But Tuesday’s results underscore a shifting climate in which voters appear more reluctant to approve additional spending without stronger fiscal assurances.
“The people of Tolleson have made their position clear: accountability must come before new spending,” Gress said. He added that lawmakers will continue to press for the financial records needed to assess how taxpayer funds are being used. School districts often rely on bonds to finance major capital projects and budget overrides to supplement operational funding. The rejection of both measures could force Tolleson Union to adjust spending plans or scale back initiatives in the months ahead.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Oct 9, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The superintendent of Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD), Jeremy Calles, declined to show up to a legislative hearing to audit his district.
Instead, Calles had a notice of defamation claim served to the committee ahead of their hearing. State Representative Matt Gress, House Education Committee chairman and Joint Legislative Audit Committee vice chairman, explained that Calles filed the $150,000 defamation claim because lawmakers were holding the hearing.
Gress also said Calles wanted to charge him up to $28,000 for “basic” public records pertaining to the district’s finances. Gress requested those records in August following a separate committee hearing the previous month.
“This is a very unusual situation,” said Gress. “I’ve not seen a school district or any political subdivision of the state for that matter, be so antagonistic to the legislature’s constitutional authority and responsibility to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.”
Lawmakers held a joint audit committee hearing on Tuesday to discuss TUHSD finances under Calles.
TUHSD came under legislative scrutiny following a $25 million leaseback agreement to rescue the Isaac School District (ISD) at the start of this year — another district with allegations of financial mismanagement. Calles disclosed in the July hearing that initial conversations on the ISD deal began with the other role he holds as a consultant. Calles is the highest paid superintendent in the state.
Gress flagged the deal as potentially unlawful and challenged Attorney General Kris Mayes’ approval of the deal.
“This agreement raises glaring legal and financial red flags,” said Gress. “The Isaac School District has a long history of financial mismanagement, and now it’s relying on a last-minute bailout that may not even be legal. The Attorney General owes the public clear answers about how this deal was approved and whether it complies with state law.”
ISD was placed into receivership in January. Preliminary investigations into the district’s finances found it overspent nearly $30 million — mainly federal relief dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic — and falsified financial records.
Over the summer, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed legislation inspired by ISD that would oust the school board of any district placed in receivership.
“[T]he financial mismanagement of the Isaac School District is unacceptable, and governing board leadership must take accountability and resign,” said Hobbs. “This bill appears to seek broad retribution rather than providing targeted methods to address problems. Mandating the upheaval of an entire elected school board is blatant legislative overreach that would create disruption and confusion for school districts during a time of crisis.”
Last November TUHSD spent nearly $77,000 on “luxury vacations” for its board members and administrators over the course of two days for just 30 people.
The bipartisan committee voted unanimously, 9-0, to audit TUHSD following testimony.
Felipe Mandurraga, who was a principal at Tolleson Union High School for eight years until he resigned following this spring semester, testified that Calles abused funding. One of Mandurraga’s allegations was that Calles handed out $20,000 vouchers to teachers without rules on their expenditure.
Apart from finances, Mandurraga also alleged TUHSD officials allowed a teacher in a relationship with a student to resign with full benefits without launching an investigation, filing a report with police, or reporting the incident to the Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE). Mandurraga further alleged the teacher in question was hired two weeks later by another district and has no pending complaints according to ASBE.
Mandurraga also alleged that Calles denied the removal of a student suspected of possessing a gun on campus; several months later, that same student was involved in a Phoenix shooting.
Calles denied knowledge of the alleged incident to members of the media.
The committee also heard testimony from the Citizens for Schools Accountability.
Auditor General Lindsay Perry said the audit would take until January 2027 to complete.
Last December, TUHSD placed Calles on paid leave amid tensions between himself and several board members. Months before, Calles had filed a formal sexual harassment complaint against then-Governing Board President and current State Representative Elda Luna-Najera.
An independent investigation by TUHSD found that Calles and Luna-Najera were in a consensual, sexual relationship. Calles filed a complaint of retaliation for his placement on paid leave.
In January, TUHSD paid Calles $450,000 to settle his complaints of sexual harassment and retaliation. TUHSD Governing Board President Leezah Sun read the statement announcing the settlement. Sun resigned from the state legislature last year to avoid expulsion after the House Ethics Committee found she violated ethics rules.
Prior to becoming TUHSD superintendent in 2023, Calles served as the district’s chief financial officer for six years.
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by Corinne Murdock | Feb 22, 2022 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Last week, the Arizona House passed a bill removing algebra II from the mathematics pathway required for high schoolers to graduate, instead offering alternative courses including personal finance, computer science, statistics, or business math. The bill, HB2278, passed mainly along party lines, with several Democrats voting in support of it: State Representatives César Chávez (D-Phoenix) and Mitzi Epstein (D-Chandler). HB2278 appeared before the Senate on Monday for a second reading.
State Representative John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction) told the House Education Committee earlier this month that he introduced the bill because high schoolers need more practical math skills.
“We’ve been taking our kids and pushing them with more college-oriented programs such as trigonometry, algebra, and advanced algebra III. But basic math for the kids to understand, have the ability to amortize a loan, and do business discounting and understanding that sometimes 60 percent off an item in a retail store still may not be a good deal even with that 60 percent, depending on what that margin rate was when they bought it,” said Fillmore.
State Representative Jennifer Pawlik (D-Chandler) attempted to introduce an amendment to have the State Board of Education create multiple alternative math graduation pathways, require that high school graduation pathways have two additional courses teaching algebra II critical thinking skills, and eliminate personal finance from courses suggested for the math graduation pathway. Pawlik’s amendment failed.
During the House floor vote last week, State Representative Michelle Udall (R-Mesa) asserted that, from her perspective as a math teacher, this bill would better equip high schoolers with applicable critical thinking and math skills. She read a list of algebra II standards to the floor, asking them to consider whether they were applicable to everyday life.
“We do use common sense, logic, reasoning. These are things we do need to learn, and there are several different math classes that would teach you those concepts: personal finance, business math, statistics. You’re going to learn real-world, real contexts, and ways to use math — not only to do that critical thinking and reasoning, but in a way that might be more engaging to some students,” said Udall.
Epstein concurred with Udall’s assessment. She noted that she was disappointed Pawlik’s amendment wasn’t passed, and wished that four years of math would be required of high schoolers.
“I do think it makes sense that we want to have rigorous math, we want to have relevant math. And currently, our standards are not achieving relevant math,” said Epstein.
In opposition to the bill, Minority Leader Reginald Bolding (D-Laveen) said that the bill would only “dumb down” the standards.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
