PHX Reporter

Merissa Hamilton, chairwoman of Strong Communities Action, criticized Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) as not being "good stewards of taxpayer dollars" ahead of a proposed $340 million bond being sought by the school district on the Nov. 7 ballot.

"While over half of their students graduate lacking proficiency in reading and math, it should be regarded that PVUSD are not good stewards of the taxpayers dollars and indeed may even be dangerous for parents to expose their children to," Hamilton told PHX Reporter. "PVUSD has assigned porn as classroom assignments, they violate the rights of girls by allowing boys in their restrooms, locker rooms, and has same sexes room together in overnight field trips."

"They implemented curriculum and policies that identify white people as oppressors, as well as a social emotional learning model to manipulate student learning to adopt such curriculum as fact against their family values," said Hamilton. "They previously featured teachers that claim their job is to change the culture of their students."

Hamilton is co-founder and CEO of Strong Communities Action and EZAZ.org ,which seeks to make civic action “Easy as Pie. She previously ran for Phoenix mayor in 2020 and serves as Member at Large of the Republican Party for Congressional District 1.

She said her organization has compiled a list of facts about PVUSD at EZAZ.org/bondelections "so that every voter can decide if they believe" the proposed bond "is the best use of their tax dollars."

Hamilton's comments about PVUSD come a week after PHX Reporter reported that the proposed bond measure is only a year removed from a $14 million “mistake” that led to a budget deficit for the school district. 

In Nov. 22, the district said that it failed to account for an expiring $14 million state “Enrollment Stabilization Grant” for its 2021-2022 budget, leading to a major budget shortfall, which ABC 15 called a "budgeting mistake."

“Everything we do is for the benefits of students, staff and our families and our community,” PVUSD Governing Board member Anne Greenberg said during a Nov. 17, 2022 board meeting in which the budget shortfall was discussed.

Earlier in the year, that same board unanimously approved spending $50,000 per year, for a multi-year engagement, to hire lobbyists. The board allowed this expenditure to come from the district’s “maintenance and operations” budget. 

Now, PVUSD voters will decide whether or not to approve a $340 million bond for the district. 

$250.8 million of the bond would be used to “construct, remodel, and improve school district facilities, buildings, and grounds,” according to to the school district, with $50 million going toward “technology improvements.”

$16 million is slated for “furniture equipment” with the remaining $23 million split between “pupil transportation vehicles” and “land.”

None of the $340 million would go toward teacher pay, according to the district.

Located in northeast Phoenix, PVUSD had a 2022 enrollment of 27,311, which was 2% lower than the previous school year. 

The district spent $396,614,554 in the 2021-2022 school year, which amounts to $14,522 spent per pupil, which is more than the state average of $12,842.

Almost half (49%) of the district’s students were “minimally” or “partially” proficient on the state’s English Language Arts assessment, according to the Arizona Department of Education.

6,307 of district students experienced “chronic absenteeism,” according to federal Civil Rights data. 

The district’s superintendent, Dr. Troy Bales, is paid $290,070 per year plus up to $12,500 in “performance based pay” to be awarded at the “sole discretion” of the school board. He also receives $600 per month from the school district to pay for “costs incurred” for use of his personal vehicle in the “day-to-day performance” of his school district duties.

Bales also receives a $100 per month allowance for a cell phone, and the district contributes “an amount equal to $22,000” per year to his 403(b) tax deferred annuity. 

Nancy Case is the President of the PVUSD Governing Board. She was first elected to the board in 2005, and is up for re-election in the November 2024 election.