PHOENIX -- Nine school districts are preparing to take legal action against the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) over changes to how state funding is distributed.
EVIT partners with 12 districts to offer career and technical education (CTE) programs in fields like firefighting, nursing, cosmetology and engineering.
According to EVIT Superintendent Chad Wilson, the nine districts have hired a law firm and are demanding more than $50 million to avoid filing a lawsuit. The dispute centers on a revised agreement that EVIT introduced after its previous inter-governmental agreement (IGA) expired in August.
The districts involved in the conflict are:
EVIT's new agreement includes retention rate requirements and reduces the funding it shares with partner districts.
Previously, districts received a set percentage of state CTE funding to support their own programs.
District leaders argue the changes not only cut their budgets but also give EVIT more control over their programs. Thus, they're threatening to file a lawsuit against the proposed changes to the IGA.
Wilson said the changes were prompted by a recent audit that found issues with student completion rates in satellite programs.
"Part of what we are wanting to put in are some control mechanisms that would allow us to better track data," Wilson said. "With those mechanisms and those controls, there's obviously an additional cost associated with that that we would have to bear."
He explained that new oversight measures would help track data, improve retention and ensure students are pursuing career paths, rather than simply taking electives.
"Our hope has been that we could have negotiations in good faith," Wilson said. "To get a letter that essentially says you have to do this ... or we're going to sue you ... was a little disheartening and frustrating."