Tolleson Union High School District Busted For ‘Taxpayer-Funded Vacation At A Four-Star Resort’

Tolleson Union High School District Busted For ‘Taxpayer-Funded Vacation At A Four-Star Resort’

By Matthew Holloway |

The Goldwater Institute released a report on Tuesday detailing the shocking expenditures of the Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD). According to the report, the district has blown a total of $76,969 “on what amounted to luxury vacations for school board members and administrators,” per public records obtained by Goldwater.

In the space of two days, the board reportedly shelled out $42,000 in hotel costs, $22,000 of which was for the catering. And this was all for just thirty people. The math works out to a brutal $700 per person, per day.

Christopher Thomas, Goldwater’s director of legal strategy for education policy, told AZFamily, “Those are monies that could have been spent on teacher salaries and educational programs for students.”

According to Goldwater, despite the public access requirements of the state of Arizona’s Open Meetings Law, these “Board and Administrator Retreats,” which act as long-form working meetings, are essentially hidden from the taxpayer. Furthermore, Goldwater reported that, “As a result of the noted board member absences, many of the meetings held during the $42,000 retreat in 2024 lacked even a board quorum (a majority of the five-member board), meaning that under the law, these were not lawful meetings of the board at all.”

Thomas explained that the retreats, “lacked transparency that’s required by the Open Meeting Law.”

Matters of great public interest were reportedly decided at these retreats, including strategies for improving student participation and graduation rates, student attendance rates and test scores, and budget priorities and academic goals, all away from public and parental oversight.

The costs revealed did not include transportation or the hourly pay of those involved, as many of them were effectively “clocked-in” during these “retreats.”

TUHSD reportedly indulged board members and administrators at two four star resorts in 2023 and 2024: the JW Marriott Starr Pass in Tucson and the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock. Notably, Goldwater observed that although records pertaining to these expenses were requested in July, they weren’t released until the middle of November… after new bond and a budget overrides were approved by Tolleson Union voters and a member of the governing board was safely re-elected.  

At the JW Marriott Starr Pass in Tucson for the board’s two-day 2023 Board/Administrator Retreat, TUHSD reportedly paid $33,969 to the resort, which included $22,061 on catering. In 2024, the three day retreat at Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock ran up a tab of $42,154 for 36 people.

“The leaders in this school district do not fundamentally understand that they are working with public dollars, and that every one of those public dollars has got to be spent in a way that gives the maximum benefit to the taxpayer and accomplishes their educational mission,” Thomas said.

Comparatively, as Goldwater Institute and AZ Free News previously reported, the Creighton Elementary School District’s Governing Board and Administrative Team attended a three-day, $4,000-per-person “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) conference at a Napa Valley wine country resort in July, which also drew heavy criticism of district leaders.

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.

Student Loan Forgiveness Recipients Likely to Spend On Nonessentials Like Vacations

Student Loan Forgiveness Recipients Likely to Spend On Nonessentials Like Vacations

By Corinne Murdock |

Recipients of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program appear to be wrestling with shoulder angels and devils over how they should spend their relief funds.

According to a recent survey of 1,250 applicants by Intelligent, 75 percent expressed interest in spending on essential items like groceries while 73 percent expressed interest in spending on nonessential items like vacations. 60 percent of these applicants said that student loans had an adverse impact on their life.

66 percent were likely to pay off their rent or mortgage, 65 percent were likely to pay off credit card debt, 62 percent were likely to fund transportation costs, 60 percent were likely to pay off medical care or other debts, and 40 percent were likely to pay for childcare.

Comparatively, 52 percent were likely to buy new clothing and accessories, 46 percent were likely to go on a vacation, 46 percent were likely to eat out, 44 percent were likely to buy a smartphone, 43 percent were likely to invest in the stock market, 42 percent were likely to buy gifts, 36 percent were likely to buy a gaming system, 30 percent were likely to finance their wedding, 28 percent were likely to buy drugs or alcohol, and 27 percent were likely to go gambling. 

Despite 73 percent of respondents saying that they would spend their forgiveness funds on nonessentials, 73 percent also said that doing so would be wrong. 84 percent of male respondents were likely to spend on nonessentials, versus 65 percent of female respondents; 80 percent of male respondents said that doing so would be wrong, versus 67 percent of females. 

Twice as many Democratic applicants as Republicans insisted that these types of expenditures were acceptable. 

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Biden’s student loan forgiveness program earlier this month (Missouri v. Biden). Despite the hold, the Biden administration told reporters that it continues to accept and review applications. 

Biden predicted last Thursday that the order would soon lift, saying that his administration would be mailing checks sometime this week or the next. The funds wouldn’t be mailed in check form, but would be applied directly to their loan balances. 

The president criticized Republicans for fighting the controversial program. 

Nearly 22 million of 40 million eligible borrowers have applied for student loan forgiveness. Over 1.3 million Arizonans at least are eligible for relief. Applications don’t close until the end of next year. 

On Monday, the Biden administration announced reforms to other student loan forgiveness programs, such as relief for those victimized by colleges with false advertising or other forms of fraud. The administration also reformed rules for student loan forgiveness for government and nonprofit workers. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.