by Staff Reporter | Feb 16, 2026 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
The lone conservative voice for the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) governing board resigned on Friday.
Jeremiah Cota blamed “unfounded and baseless attacks” by the rest of the board against him for his resignation. Cota said the district suffered “gross maladministration and injurious governance” and a “fiscally unsustainable path” under the rest of the board.
“I have been stunned to see how this board and district have engaged in a pattern of harassment and discrimination against fellow community and board members, including the baseless and unfounded accusations against myself,” said Cota. “As an enrolled member of the federally recognized San Carlos Apache Tribe, the outright persecution I have experienced as a board member from other members and direct personnel have jilted my relationships, caused damage and irrefutable harm, and created a toxic operating environment for both personal and professional endeavors.”
Cota was appointed to the board in June by the Maricopa County School Superintendent. Prior to his appointment, Cota worked for Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs.
Since being on the board, Cota has called public attention to a number of causes for concern within the district: increased violence following rejection of campus officers and contracts with left-wing activist groups, to name a few.
Last fall, the board was hit with significant budget reductions and staff layoffs over the steep decline in enrollment. District leadership, apart from Cota, blamed school choice and Republicans for their budget shortfalls.
Activists launched a campaign for his removal over his attendance at a Christmas party with fellow conservatives following Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest in December.
Secular AZ organized a petition that began circulating last month calling for Cota’s resignation, picked up by local media. Over 600 people signed the petition. Secular AZ also created social graphics to complement their campaign against Cota.
Board President Francisco Pastor-Rivera signaled support for the petition in interviews.
“As a board member, you represent making decisions that impact a student’s future. I think this attendance itself, and this action shows true colors all together,” said Pastor-Rivera. “I really question if a person is representing the values of the community that they serve.”
Cota inspired the ire of district leadership about a month after joining the board when he declined to recite a land acknowledgment statement, instead offering a prayer to God. Cota later went a step further and requested to remove the land acknowledgement statement entirely.
The board parliamentarian prevented Cota from finishing his prayer and told him that religious prayer could not occur before the land acknowledgment statement.
The denial of Cota’s commitment to a public display of his Christian faith spurred a legislative response in the form of House Bill 2110.
One of the leaders of Secular AZ and repeat political candidate for various offices, Jeanne Casteen, accused Cota of indoctrination in media interviews.
“They shouldn’t have been praying in the first place. If you want to pray, you can do it before the meeting and silently,” said Casteen.
More recently, Cota led the lone charge on the board to take disciplinary measures against staff who participated in anti-ICE protests on campus.
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by Matthew Holloway | Oct 30, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) is preparing for significant budget reductions and potential staff layoffs as enrollment continues to drop, according to a letter sent to district employees on October 24th by Superintendent Thea Andrade.
In a letter to PXU colleagues posted to X by Phoenix Union Governing Board Member Jeremiah Cota, Andrade cites a decline of approximately 1,800 students in the 2025-2026 school year, following a drop of about 1,200 students the previous year. This represents a total loss of roughly 3,000 students, or about 10% of the district’s overall population, since its high point in 2022.
The superintendent attributes the budget cuts to “a significant decline in student enrollment.” In her letter, she explains that “the reasons for declining enrollment are complex,” and pivots to what she says are contributing factors: “the largest expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) in our state’s history,” the continued growth of charter schools, local demographic challenges such as gentrification and low birth rates, and the expiration of several federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.
The announcement drew immediate response from Governing Board Member Jeremiah Cota, who slammed the district for casting blame on ESA families, charter schools, and Arizona’s Republican-led legislature.
In his post, Cota said that as a board member, he has repeatedly requested improvements in school safety and has been “all but ignored.” He also expressed concern that parents are hesitant to send children to district schools due to safety issues and “woke identity politics” in classrooms.
Cota wrote in full:
“Today, Phoenix Union High School District announced an untold number of possible job cuts due to declining enrollment.
It’s unfortunate, this district has chosen to blame ESA families, charter schools, and the GOP legislature for their budget shortfalls.
As a board member for @PhoenixUnion, from day one I’ve asked to make our schools safer and have all but been ignored on EVERY single request.
Parents, don’t feel safe sending their kids to one of our schools and are tired of the woke identity politics being injected in the classroom.
Yet, here we are, big enrollment drops and possibly even bigger job cuts coming.
TRUTHFULLY, I am concerned the present board will not take any corrective action to stem this decline.”
To address the financial strain, the district has already implemented cuts. In the 2023-2024 school year, it reduced district office budgets by $8.6 million and reorganized the executive team, eliminating several administrative positions to shield campus roles. For the 2024-2025 school year, per AZ Family, an additional $5.8 million was cut through district office reductions, unfilled vacancies, and natural attrition.
As previously reported by AZ Free News, the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) faced major controversy going into a vote to approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) to provide substance abuse prevention and mental health services at three high schools. The MOU outlines CPLC’s role as a subgrantee of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) under the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG).
The MOU would also permit CPLC to offer “Health Masculinity Services for Self-Identified Males.”
Looking ahead, the district projects it will need to cut another $15 million in the 2025-2026 school year and $20 million in the 2026-2027 school year to maintain solvency. Approximately 90% of the district’s annual budget goes toward employee salaries and benefits, Andrade noted.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Ethan Faverino | Sep 22, 2025 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is urging the Phoenix Union High School District to reverse its decision to reject armed officers on campus following a violent knife fight between two female students at Carl Hayden High School.
The altercation, reported by the Phoenix Police Department, occurred just after 9 a.m last Monday. Officers responded to reports of a physical fight during which one student struck another with the handle of a closed-blade pocketknife.
The student with the pocketknife was referred to the Juvenile Court Center and faces one count of aggravated assault. The injured student received treatment for minor injuries, and the incident remains under investigation. Horne emphasized the critical need for armed officers, stating, “The safety of students, teachers, and staff members at schools is not negotiable, and a knife fight on the Carl Hayden campus Monday shows the dangers are increasing. This needs to stop immediately. The Phoenix Union governing board needs to reverse a terrible decision they made earlier this year when they rejected requests from the leadership of both Carl Hayden and Betty Fairfax high schools for armed officers on campus.”
“Yesterday, Phoenix Police reported that two female Carl Hayden students were in a knife fight that resulted in injuries,” Horne added. “This proves the need for armed officers and demonstrates the utter lack of concern by the members of the Phoenix Union government board who rejected the request for officers that had been endorsed by the two schools and district administration. It was an outrageous dereliction of responsibility, and the board needs to reconsider this matter immediately.”
The incident at Carl Hayden High School is part of a broader pattern of safety concerns within the Phoenix Union High School District. Earlier this year, a tragic stabbing at Maryvale High School resulted in the death of a 16-year-old student, prompting scrutiny of campus security protocols.
Phoenix Union Governing Board member Jeremiah Cota requested reconsideration of the board’s earlier vote back in August 2025, but again, the Phoenix Union board voted to deny state-funded officers. Cota tweeted, “There will be NO school resource officers agenda item at the Phoenix Union next board meeting. The Board President has refused my calls for improving school safety once again. Shameful for this district to put anti-law enforcement politics before student and staff safety.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Ethan Faverino | Sep 4, 2025 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
The Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) is set to vote on a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), an Arizona-based nonprofit, at its upcoming school board meeting.
The agreement, effective from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2027, aims to provide substance abuse prevention and mental health services to students at Carl Hayden High School, Bostrom High School, and Maryvale High School.
However, the proposal sparked debate among board members and community advocates, with concerns about the scope of services and their alignment with student needs.
The MOU outlines CPLC’s role as a subgrantee of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) under the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG). The SABG targets groups such as pregnant women, drug users, and individuals with HIV/AIDS, alongside primary prevention services for substance abuse.
Under the proposed agreement, CPLC would deliver primary substance abuse prevention services and counseling to referred PXU students, with a specific mention of “Health Masculinity Services for Self-Identified Males.”
The proposed MOU has drawn criticism from some PXU board members, notably Jeremiah Cota, who announced via X his intent to vote against the contract.
Cota expressed concerns that the agreement prioritizes services for self-identified males and potentially includes abortion-related support under the guise of “wrap-around” services, labeling CPLC a “leftist activist group.”
His stance has been amplified by Arizona State Representative Teresa Martinez, who praised Cota’s advocacy while criticizing PXU for ignoring student safety, particularly in light of recent discussions about reinstating school resource officers (SROs).
The SROs were removed from PXU campuses in 2020 following concerns about police interactions with minority students.
Despite recommendations from the district’s student safety committee in March 2023 to reinstate SROs, the board postponed the decision, opting for further study sessions and maintaining an off-duty officer model.
No SRO vote is scheduled for the upcoming meeting, intensifying the frustration among advocates, who argue student safety is being pushed aside.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Aug 29, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne weighed in on the scandal involving Cartwright Elementary School District board members Lydia and Cassandra Hernandez. The mother-daughter duo allegedly tried to smuggle a box-cutter style knife into Maryvale High School just days after a fatal stabbing there claimed the life of a 16-year-old student. Horne called for both women to resign their public offices immediately.
As reported by Fox10, Officials with the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) told the outlet that on August 25th, Arizona State Rep. Lydia Hernandez (D-LD24) and her daughter, Cassandra Hernandez, created a disturbance at Maryvale High School by “knowingly bringing an unauthorized weapon onto campus.” Lydia Hernandez denied the school district’s accusation in response to an inquiry from Fox10 but declined to comment further.
PXU confirmed in a statement that the two women were “attempting to circumvent our safety systems and knowingly bringing an unauthorized weapon onto campus.”
The district stated in its announcement, “We will pursue all legal options, including pressing charges and trespassing the individuals from coming back to our campuses.”
Both women were recording the incident on their phones. At that point, “Lydia told the staff that she was video recording the interaction and that she was testing the weapon detection systems,” PXU said in a news release. Both women were then escorted from the premises.
Arizona SPI Horne released a statement condemning the women for the incident, saying, “This was an outrageous and indefensible stunt. For two school board members, one who is also a state legislator, to deliberately provoke a security disruption at a school is unconscionable. To do it at Maryvale High School where a student was tragically murdered in a classroom just a week earlier is unbelievably insensitive to the trauma that was inflicted on the students, teachers and staff of that school. These two board members should resign immediately.”
Horne continued, “The safety of our campuses is an absolute priority. Security personnel and safety officers need to do their jobs, and they cannot be diverted from protecting the campus by a juvenile and unnecessary act such as this. The actions of these board members show they do not appreciate the seriousness of ensuring campuses are safe places and the Cartwright Board must include members who are committed to school safety.”
Phoenix City Councilmembers Betty Guardado and Anna Hernandez released a joint statement similarly calling for both women to resign, according to KTAR.
“Their actions disrupted the fragile environment at Maryvale High School, were a blatant disregard for safety and school protocol, and were gravely insensitive to the students, families, and school staff still mourning the Maryvale student who died last week,” Guardado and Hernandez said. “The choice to target a school still reeling from trauma speaks volumes about their judgment and priorities as leaders. Such actions jeopardize the safety of students and staff alike, showing an alarming lack of responsibility and failure as public officials.”
Arizona House Democrat Leaders reacted with a statement saying, “The incident spelled out in the School District’s statement is serious and shocking.” The Democrat leaders noted that while they have “not yet had an opportunity to speak with Rep. Hernandez to get an explanation from her perspective…it should go without saying that nobody — elected official or otherwise — should engage in such reckless and potentially criminal behavior on a school campus.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
