The State Board of Education (the “Board”) decided against exercising its authority to takeover the operations of the Roosevelt Elementary School District. The decision was made after an intensive three-day hearing that included arguments from Arizona Department of Education (the “ADE”) and District representatives.
The Board acknowledged that the District is performing below expectations, but recent academic gains indicate that the current administration and governing board have the capacity to raise the quality of educational programs provided by all of the District’s schools. Specific findings by the Board include:
1. From 2005 to 2008 the District has demonstrated academic growth and improvement in its AIMS scores. The data show that at each grade level and in each area tested the District has narrowed the achievement gap relative to statewide averages.
2. On June 13th, 2008, the ADE distributed independent rankings of school districts across the state. According to this evaluation the District outperforms 37 other districts in the state.
3. The District has shown strong improvement in its AZ LEARNS evaluations. Preliminary calculations indicate that this year the District will have two schools labeled as “underperforming.” In 2007 the District had 11 schools labeled as “underperforming” or “failing.”
Ultimately, the Board determined that it is in the best interest of the District’s students to take no action that might disrupt this progress. To ensure that these positive trends continue the Board instructed the District to submit detailed quarterly reports. This decision does not prohibit the Board from revisiting this issue in the future if the District’s AZ LEARNS evaluations fall to the levels of 2007.
This case marks the first time the Board has considered a petition to takeover an entire school district due to poor academic performance. New legislation (HB2711) grants the Board the authority to appoint a new superintendent for a troubled district. A superintendent appointed pursuant to this law is accountable only to the State Board of Education and can be granted authority that supersedes that of the locally elected governing board.