EVIT responds to East Valley school districts’ legal moves

Seven other East Valley school districts in Maricopa and Pinal counties have joined the Queen Creek Unified School District in taking legal steps to stop the East Valley Institute of Technology from reducing the funds it distributes for career and technical education satellite programs to various schools.

On Tuesday, the QCUSD Governing Board voted to authorize the law firm of Osborn Maledon to “initiate legal action on behalf of the district if needed” regarding EVIT’s proposal to alter the terms of an intergovernmental agreement with QCUSD and eight other East Valley school districts regarding CTE satellite program funding.

As of Thursday, the boards of Chandler, Gilbert, Cave Creek, Apache Junction, Tempe Union, Fountain Hills and JO Combs school districts had also voted to hire Osborn Maledon to represent them in any legal dispute with EVIT. The Higley Unified School District Governing Board will be holding its regular session on Sept. 16.

“This decision is deeply disappointing and forces taxpayers in their respective communities to bear unnecessary legal expenses driven by misinformation and fear. It diverts valuable resources away from classrooms and into courtrooms,” EVIT stated in a press release.

Under the satellite program, students can take CTE classes on their high school campuses rather than going to two EVIT locations in east and west Mesa.

The districts fear that the funding cuts could result in some satellite programs being eliminated, forcing students who want to study a particular vocation to travel to the EVIT campuses in Mesa rather than study at their respective high schools.

EVIT disputes that characterization.

“Contrary to inaccurate claims being made, this reduction will not result in the closure of any high school CTE programs,” the EVIT release continues. “As of the end of fiscal year 2024, Queen Creek Unified, Gilbert Public Schools, Chandler Unified, Cave Creek and JO Combs held a combined CTE surplus of over $25 million, enough money to absorb this adjustment and support CTE programming for decades.”

QCUSD and the other districts currently receive 87% of their funding for satellite programs from EVIT. QCUSD officials have said that in the first year of the proposed new agreement, EVIT will reduce funding to 83% with cuts continuing at about 2% to 3% each year for the life of the contract.

“We are fighting for our students. Money that we receive (from EVIT) is not extra. We use that money for program expansions, program costs, equipment repairs, transportation needs and the constant updates needed to keep CTE programs aligned with the industry standards,” QCUSD Board Member Patty Campbell said during the district’s meeting on Tuesday.

EVIT has been attempting to individually redraw its intergovernmental agreements with nine East Valley school districts.
However, a coalition has emerged to collectively take on EVIT’s proposed reductions.

“EVIT has made multiple good-faith efforts to negotiate directly with Queen Creek, Gilbert, Chandler and JO Combs but all districts declined one-on-one meetings. Instead, they aligned together with their attorneys to advance a misleading narrative that EVIT is harming CTE programs,” EVIT’s release continued.

The EVIT statement did not address the other districts that have also voted to prepare for legal action.

By state law, districts participating in the EVIT Career Technical Education District must have agreements with EVIT. The previous agreements expired in July, and an extension ended in August.

In a letter sent to parents in August, EVIT said the proposed funding and structural changes to the satellite program were the result of an audit by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office.

According to the letter, the audit “emphasized the EVIT governing board is ultimately responsible for the quality and content of all CTE programs within our district, both at EVIT and in our district’s high schools.”

“Our previous method of calculating costs and allocating funds does not align with best practices used statewide. We’re asking to adopt the same funding structure used by other large career technical education districts in Arizona,” the letter added. “To be clear, this isn’t about EVIT wanting more money.”

EVIT is also proposing adding more “accountability measures” to the intergovernmental agreements measuring program persistence, student-completion rates and the number of certifications earned by students.

“As members of the EVIT CTED, these districts have historically prioritized students, staff, parents and taxpayers,” EVIT Superintendent Chad Wilson stated in the release. “Now, they have chosen to potentially spend public funds on legal fees, funds that should be invested in students. EVIT remains committed to finding a solution before running to the courthouse.”

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