Knox resigns from Queen Creek Unified board

Queen Creek Unified School District governing board member James Knox resigned Tuesday just hours before the board held its first meeting of the new year.

“The 2024 election was the community’s chance to elect good candidates to help me in this fight. Unfortunately, the incumbents have been reelected, which sends a clear message that the community is fine with QCUSD’s sub-par education,” Knox wrote in a resignation letter sent to the Queen Creek Independent.

The Queen Creek Independent has reached out to other governing board members for comment.

Knox has been a lightning rod on the board since his election, repeatedly at loggerheads with fellow members Jennifer Revolt, Patty Campbell, Matt Riffey and Samantha Davis. He was also an outspoken critic of QCUSD Superintendent Perry Berry.

During the 2024 election cycle, Knox recruited and supported candidates Heidi Lee and David Dehority, who challenged Campbell, Riffey and Revolt. Both Lee and Dehority lost on Nov. 5.

“I am unwilling to continue in this fight as it appears I no longer have community support. I have endured disgusting emails from the Satanic church and various pro-pedophile groups and other sickening messages that are too foul to publish in this letter,” Knox wrote. “The whisper campaigns and continual attacks on my character from those who do not want to improve QCUSD, and the high turnover of teachers and administrators in an otherwise stable profession, is a sign of fear within the district.”

During a school board meeting in August, a district employee called what she deemed “vile, sexist, misogynistic and borderline racist” Facebook posts made by Knox.

The posts drew a sharp rebuke from other board members as well as the public while Knox defended the posts and took his Facebook feed private.

“Some of the posts sent to me from his profile depict a woman crouching down and holding on to men’s genitals and a children’s book about ‘Hookers and Blow Save Christmas,’” stated Revolt at the time in an email. “I want to make it clear that I do not condone this behavior from someone who is supposed to serve as a professional leader of children as well as every family in the Queen Creek Unified School District.”

Revolt’s descriptions of the posts were confirmed through screenshots captured by a district resident. A few of the sexually oriented memes were about Vice President Kamala Harris.

Knox didn’t deny that he posted the material.

“We have these administrators who are, in my opinion, trying to make a mountain out of the molehill, but yeah I posted this stuff,” Knox said at the time. “It was on my personal Facebook page and 99% of it was stuff that other people had posted. They have every right to feel offended, but nothing I posted was intended to offend. It was humorous by many people’s standards.”

That wasn’t the first time a member of the public challenged one of Knox’s Facebook posts. In 2023, a parent claimed Knox had posted an improper comment on the Queen Creek High School Band’s Facebook fan page by quoting part of a line from the raunchy teen comedy, “American Pie.”

Knox, who homeschools his children, was elected to the board in 2022.

In his resignation letter, Knox encouraged parents with children in QCUSD schools to switch to charter schools.

“The second option — which requires you to be personally invested in your child’s education — is homeschooling,” he wrote. “I raised my two sons, homeschooling them long before ESA was an option.”

In his letter, Knox also touted himself as “the sole voice for students, families, and educators who wanted change in the district. President Jenifer Revolt and other board members told me I would get nothing done.”

“Nevertheless, I have been the only one asking questions and attempting to take a stand for the truth. I was a voice for our employees, challenging the poor assessment scores, and speaking the truth of what an A+ rated district means in Arizona,” he wrote.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.