Zone Read: Districts in Distress – Your Public School PSA

For the past 13 years I’ve filled this column with many different Arizona high school-related topics.

But never this one.

Maybe it hits a little different for me because growing up, I was a part of one. One that’s now struggling. One that’s had its name dragged through the mud with a combination of missteps, poor planning and, in part, maybe just some bad luck.  

However, when we zoom the lens out here not just in the Valley, but around the state, it’s not just one, it’s several.

Many public school districts are under a fairly intense spotlight, searching for solutions from an overflowing barrel full of issues.

Growing up in the then “East Valley,” things were much different than today. There was one pro sports team, three minor league ones. The Valley’s population was around 1.8 million when I started high school way back in 1988. It trended up to 2.18 over the next four years. I had a handful of friends who attended Brophy Prep but most of us stayed in the Scottsdale School District and attended Arcadia High, with a lower 4A enrollment of just over 1,000 students.

Kids I grew up with, dating all the way back to kindergarten at Hopi Elementary, then Ingleside Middle School, continued on to Arcadia. It was almost a foregone conclusion. All products of our neighborhood Scottsdale schools.

Seeing the Scottsdale Unified School District in the news the past several months for—well, all the wrong reasons—is sad but they’re not alone. All over Phoenix we are seeing district leadership groups fighting uphill battles, or in SUSD’s case, public scrutiny for ineptitude, some of which is out of their control, some that isn’t.

No SUSD school has been under the microscope more than Saguaro High. From a former principal sending out an email using a derogatory term (just Google it for more details) which led to students and parents revolting, to an eroded on-campus environment with football players physically fighting other students, the look isn’t particularly good for anyone. 

In January, I told you about the disgusting actions of now former Saguaro AD Lucas Ackerson who will never work in the Department of Education again.

The Sabercats are still searching for fired coach Durius Kelly’s replacement. After going 4-16 in two seasons at the one-time football power, he was let go back in November. The school had come to an agreement with Jason Ronquillo, an assistant last year at Gilbert High, but that fell through when Ronquillo eventually resigned just days after reportedly accepting the position.

To be clear, the unnecessary actions of a few by no means overshadow the incredible work of many at Saguaro.

The bigger picture question is, why are several districts slowly submerging in this deep end of problems?

There are several reasons – probably too many to unpack in this column – but let’s explore a few.

Arizona’s State of Education

It’s not good. 

In fact, it’s awful.

A 2024 study showed good ‘ole State 48 ranked dead last in public education. Our students’ ACT scores consistently rank near the bottom.  The findings also reported Arizona had the fifth-worst high school graduation rate, a jaw-dropping stat considering there are now over five million residents in the greater Phoenix area.

Further, we consistently rank near the bottom for per-pupil spending, our student-to-teacher ratio is one of the worst in the country, and we are in the bottom 10 for school safety.

With 49 other states, this all is quite the feat.

A total report card of failure and incompetence, further polluted by the fact most teachers (some of which who coach) don’t want to teach, at least not in this state, which offers offensively paltry salaries considering the endless stress and work load involved in what has become a mostly year-round commitment.

Breaking the Budget

The money crisis is real for several districts here in Arizona. In fact, the financial health of these districts is significantly trending in the wrong direction. A recent report showed 18 are near, or at, the highest financial risk, compared to just nine in 2025.

While these shortcomings are certainly a systemic issue, there are common themes intertwined – most notably, the rising costs of well…everything, lack of funding, and declining enrollment across the board. Again, mostly out of the control of district administrators who, at this point, are simply holding onto the life raft as it uncontrollably bounces down the financial black hole of doom.

This under funding isn’t new for anyone familiar with our public education shortcomings, and smaller communities around Arizona aren’t immune, either. Joseph City, Santa Cruz, Hayden-Winkelman, and Chino Valley Unified School District all made the list. The three most notable are the before mentioned SUSD, Tucson Unified, and Fountain Hills Unified.

One of the biggest financial setbacks was expiration of Prop 123 last year, which resulted in the loss of nearly $300 million in annual funding which supported public school budgets.

Are the in-state lawmakers listening, or simply turning a blind eye on Arizona’s youth?

Choosing Charter

Why are we seeing such a steep drop in enrollment?

Well, present-day parents have options for their children’s education – ones not available when I was a teenager

For Arizona high school athletics, specifically football, open enrollment has been a game-changer. It’s not rare to see a student-athlete live across the street from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear but choose to attend, say, Chaparral in north Scottsdale. While the once commonplace “neighborhood team” is nearing extinction, so too are students continuing on from middle school to the most proximate high school to their residence.

The mid-90’s saw a boom in Arizona charter schools with 67 opening in 1995 alone. That number ballooned over the next decade. By 2003, Arizona was home to almost 500 fully operational magnet schools.

No other state in the country has a larger percentage of charter-attended schools. Expect the jaw-dropped 2024 total of over 230,000, or 20% of our total over public school students, to continue to spike as our public education rankings sputter.

Families feel charter schools exceed public education for a number of reasons, most notably – smaller class sizes, specialized academics, personalized learning and safer campuses. Many of the top-ranked schools not only in-state, but nationwide, are Arizona charters.

It’s easy to see why the charter school trend is growing.

Simply put, many of our public school districts are constantly facing 4th-and-20 from their own goal line. 

Without an overhauled approach, spear-headed by more consistent, committed funding, the worst may be yet to come.