PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Arizona lawmakers are accusing a West Valley superintendent of profiting from a real estate deal.<\/p>\n
It all unfolded during a Joint Legislative Audit Committee hearing<\/a> on Monday morning. The JLAC oversees all audit functions of the Legislature and state agencies.<\/p>\n In January, the Tolleson Union High School District<\/a> entered into a leaseback deal with the Isaac Elementary School District, where Isaac would sell Isaac Middle School to TUHSD for $25 million<\/a> and Tolleson would then lease back the building at 6% interest.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first conversation I had came from a text message from, yes, the prior superintendent, Mr. Mario Ventura, who texted me and asked if I could take a look at his finances,\u201d said TUHSD Superintendent Jeremy Calles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Calles works two jobs, as superintendent and also as a consultant. He said that when the Isaac Elementary School District<\/a> first contacted him it was in his role as a consultant. But when his own district got involved, Calles\u2019 involvement changed. He says he never billed a dime and the Isaac Elementary School District has never been a client of his.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a new concept; the only thing novel on this idea is that both sides of the transaction, you have a school district. Everything else about this transaction, both sides of the transaction are not unseen,\u201d said Calles.<\/p>\n He said the agreement included no prepayment penalty and no lock in requirement for Isaac Elementary School District and helped the district out during its financial crisis. The benefit for Tolleson Union students, Calles said, was by generating up to $7 million more than the district had before.<\/p>\n But there was some pushback from committee members who questioned how the move would help the district, which has a \u201cB\u201d letter grade from the State Board of Education<\/a> but less than 30% of students are proficient in math and ELA<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, you have not been able to demonstrate the $25 million financial transaction benefitting Tolleson Union students directly, given that you have no square footage, you\u2019re not providing any learning services. It\u2019s not even in your district so this is far beyond novel. I think you\u2019ve made a mockery of our state law,\u201d said Rep. Matt Gress, a Republican from central Phoenix.<\/p>\n There have also been other controversies surrounding the TUHSD, including a sexual harassment claim<\/a> involving top district officials and a recent deal to build affordable housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Towards the end of the hearing, multiple city of Tolleson officials, including the city manager, voiced concerns they have with Calles.<\/p>\n Calles has previously told Arizona\u2019s Family that the motives behind the complaints against him have to do with local politics and perceived power.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n