(MESA, Ariz.) The East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) will comply with a mixed ruling issued Monday by Judge Christopher Coury regarding Career and Technical Education (CTE) satellite programs operated by nine member school districts.
The ruling does not resolve the issue of transportation for thousands of students who travel from their home campuses to EVIT’s Mesa campus.
The court ruled that EVIT’s elected Governing Board retains its legal authority over the content and quality of Career Technical Education District (CTED) programs. The court also found that CTED funds are restricted to career and technical education and may not be used for unrelated district expenses.
At the same time, the court ruled that, in the absence of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), the satellite programs operated by the nine districts that filed the lawsuit, and the CTED funds already distributed to those districts, are not subject to EVIT’s oversight.
According to EVIT, the nine districts involved in the lawsuit continue to decline to provide transportation and have not accepted EVIT’s offer to cover the full estimated $4 million transportation cost, even though those districts previously provided transportation.
EVIT’s Governing Board is reviewing the decision and evaluating whether to appeal.
The ruling recognizes the Legislature’s framework that assigns EVIT responsibility for ensuring the educational quality of CTED-funded programs. EVIT believes that consistent oversight helps ensure students receive high-quality career and technical education, provides accountability for taxpayers who fund those programs, and carries out the responsibilities established in state law. While the court affirmed EVIT’s authority over program quality and content, it also concluded that existing law limits how that authority applies when an IGA is not in place.
Judge Coury also ruled that school districts may use CTED funds only for vocational programs at their high schools, regardless of whether those programs have been approved by EVIT’s Governing Board.
The court also emphasized that CTED funds are dedicated to career and technical education:
“The Court agrees with EVIT: money in Fund 596 accounts are intended to expand and supplement vocational, career and technical education programming for students, rather than being used as a proverbial ‘piggy bank’ to mitigate historical or structural deficits in a school district’s budget.”
Without an IGA, the nine districts that sued EVIT—Apache Junction, Cave Creek, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Higley, J.O. Combs, Queen Creek, and Tempe—will not receive additional CTED funding for their vocational programs until an agreement is reached.
“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,” said EVIT Superintendent Dr. Chad Wilson. “Unfortunately, this ruling does not provide clarity for the upcoming school year. Students and parents should not be leveraged in a legal dispute. That’s why our offer for transportation still stands.”
Wilson said EVIT will spend the coming days reviewing the ruling and determining its next steps.
“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 said. “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.”
The EVIT CTED oversees and funds career and technical education at its central campuses in Mesa and Scottsdale, as well as satellite programs in 11 East Valley school districts and American Leadership Academy. Mesa Public Schools, Scottsdale Unified School District, and American Leadership Academy already have IGAs with EVIT and are not affected by Monday’s ruling. For more information go to www.EVIT.edu.
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