Chandler schools, other districts call EVIT decision a win

The nine school districts challenging an attempt by the East Valley Institute of Technology to reduce the funds it distributes for career and technical education satellite programs have scored a win in court, but the overarching standoff continues.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury ruled June 29 that EVIT could not control the use of funds already generated by district satellite programs.

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

“EVIT was trying to freeze our Fund 596, which are funds that are generated for kids that are enrolled in satellite programs that attend classes on our campuses and actually don’t go to the EVIT campus but are served completely by the districts,” said Queen Creek Unified School District Chief Operating Officer Amber Bordes. “The judge ruled that was not allowed and that we have the authorization to utilize those funds for any CTE-related classes that we provide on our campuses.

“It’s a huge win because we’ve always felt like those are our funds,” Bordes said.

The Chandler Unified School District sent out a letter June 30 to its career and technical-ed families, claiming no interruptions would occur, thanks to the ruling, and despite a new agreement between CUSD and EVIT being in place yet.

“While our current agreement with EVIT expires June 30, and a new agreement is not yet in place for the upcoming school year, this has no impact on the CTE programs offered directly through CUSD,” the district wrote. “CTE courses held on CUSD campuses will continue running as planned, and students will keep their full access to the career and technical education opportunities our district offers. Without an approved IGA, EVIT does not have authority over how those funds are spent or the ability to audit expenditures related to non-EVIT CTE programs.”

In addressing EVIT funding as part of a CUSD Governing Board budget discussion at a June 25 meeting, the district’s chief financial officer, Lana Berry, said Chandler has brought 18 counter-proposals for a new IGA that have all been rejected by EVIT.

Chandler reminded parents that EVIT continues to maintain oversight of its own approved satellite programs. However, even though EVIT issued a news release June 9 stating it would cover transportation costs for out-of-area students attending an EVIT campus, that area remains unresolved.

“Students who are registered for EVIT courses at EVIT may take those classes as planned; however, the transportation challenges remain the same today,” CUSD wrote to parents. “Following the (June 25) court hearing, EVIT requested that member districts allow EVIT-contracted transportation providers to access district campuses and transport students attending EVIT’s Central Campus. We understand transportation is an important issue; however, districts must first ensure that appropriate operational procedures, student supervision, safety protocols, emergency response plans, and legal responsibilities are clearly established before implementing any new transportation process."

CUSD stated it would continue to keep families updated as this progresses.

Coury also ruled EVIT retains authority over the content and quality of all Career and Technical Education District programs, but it could not dictate how the districts spend money on vocational classes outside of the CTED system.

“Today’s ruling denied EVIT’s application for a preliminary injunction and rejected EVIT’s core legal argument: that districts can only spend vocational education funds on EVIT-approved courses. The court was unambiguous. EVIT was wrong. The districts were right,” according to a joint statement released June 29 by the districts’ PR firm.

EVIT Superintendent Chad Wilson stated in a news release that “We are grateful to the court for taking the time and the effort to sort out a very complicated issue regarding school finances and CTED funds. Unfortunately, this ruling does not provide clarity for the upcoming school year.”

Wilson stated EVIT will spend the coming days reviewing the ruling and determining its next steps.
By ruling that the districts have access to funds already generated, schools will be able to fund the satellite programs in the new school year but there will be no money for the following year unless an agreement with EVIT is reached.

Last fall, Queen Creek, Chandler, Gilbert, Higley, Cave Creek, Apache Junction, Fountain Hills, J.O. Combs and Tempe Union school districts sued EVIT when it attempted to reduce the percentage of state funds it doles out to the districts for satellite programs.

Under now-expired intergovernmental agreements, districts received 87% of their funding for satellite programs from EVIT. Under new agreements proposed by EVIT, funding would be reduced to 83% with cuts continuing at about 2% to 3% each year for the life of the contract.

“In fiscal year 2024, EVIT collected more than $36 million in state funding attributable to satellite CTE enrollment, the students enrolled in district-run programs,” according to the districts’ joint statement. “More than $30 million of that was paid back to the districts, with EVIT retaining $6 million. EVIT’s proposal would have reduced that pass-through, with EVIT keeping even more dollars inside an administration that serves a fraction of the student population.”

The nine districts serve more than 25,000 students in career and technical education programs, while EVIT’s centralized campus serves about 3,500, the joint statement continued.

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

“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.”

Bordes countered that EVIT has yet to provide details on how they would use the additional funds.

“I can very clearly state exactly how we use those funds in our district and how they support satellite classes directly,” she said. “We have yet to hear from EVIT on how they would spend that money or why they needed more money for satellite programming for those kids that never stepped foot on their campus.”

The nine districts and EVIT have yet to negotiate a new IGA so neither the districts nor EVIT will receive any CTED funding this coming school year.

“We’ve been working over the last year, well actually 18 months, trying to get an (agreement) in place for both central and satellite programming because we know it’s important,” Bordes said. “We continue to come to the table trying to negotiate with EVIT and that’s been unsuccessful.”

Berry has said repeatedly that much of the surplus funds Chandler has been stockpiling are either matching or the sole source of money needed for expensive CTE capital projects, such as culinary space upgrades or semiconductor equipment — the kind of large occasional expenses not addressed in decades-old state legislation that set up districts such as EVIT.

For its part, EVIT stated that it has offered to fund the entire $4 million cost of busing CTE students to the main EVIT campuses.

“Our position has always been that we want what is best for all students in the EVIT CTED. That includes students who take these programs at their high schools,” Wilson stated in the release. “We don’t completely agree with the court’s ruling. But we respect the court and we respect the law and will follow it accordingly.”

 Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines