Lawmakers call for audit of Tolleson Union High School District's finances
Financial scrutiny hits Tolleson Union High School District
The Tolleson Union High School District is facing calls for a financial audit from state lawmakers, an action Superintendent Jeremy Calles dismisses as an "orchestrated attack." FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has this story.
TOLLESON, Ariz. - The Tolleson Union High School District is facing calls for a financial audit from state lawmakers, an action Superintendent Jeremy Calles dismisses as an "orchestrated attack."
What they're saying:
Calles asserts he has "nothing to hide" regarding the district's finances. The controversy follows a July 21 Joint Legislative Audit Committee hearing where the district's financial decisions were scrutinized.
Rep. Matt Gress, vice chair of the committee, raised concerns after Tolleson loaned the Isaac School District $25 million this spring through a lease-leaseback agreement. Gress also alleges a conflict of interest, citing ties between Calles' consulting firm and the Isaac School District.
"What we learned is that the superintendent of the Tolleson Union District that loaned Isaac the money also serves as a consultant for 70 school districts across the state and in fact engaged in a consulting relationship with the Isaac Elementary School District before this transaction occurred," Gress said.
The committee also brought up other alleged conflicts of interest, including district employees reportedly being on the payroll for Calles' consulting firm. Calles, however, claims the hearing was mishandled, and he was not given a proper opportunity to address the allegations.
"They never actually gave me a chance to rebuttal, and they definitely didn't stay limited to the topics that we agreed on because they threw out any and everything," Calles said. "I could see them on their phones taking text messages from people and finding more random things to try to throw out on their fishing expedition."
What's next:
The case against the Tolleson Union High School District will now go to the Auditor General's Office for recommendations, with both sides expressing hope that the truth will emerge.
"I'm confident that at some point somebody is going to give an unbiased, fair approach to assessing the situation," Calles said.
Gress countered, "What is he using all of this money on, and how is he leveraging the district to advance his consulting firm? These are questions we need answered."
Calles released a statement on the conflict of interest allegation.
"As I explained at JLAC, I have never billed ISD a dime and the moment we considered TUHSD as a solution, due to the urgency, I told the Receiver that if a PO was opened for my consulting firm then it needed to be closed. The Receiver already confirmed for them at the June 6 meeting that there is no record of me ever being paid by ISD," Calles said.