Bill may help polygamist town's school district function
 
The Associated Press
Tucson Citizen
 
PHOENIX - Gov. Janet Napolitano says she hopes a bill she has signed into law will allow state officials to clean up financial troubles of a school district serving a northern Arizona polygamist community.

Napolitano on Monday signed a bill (HB2417) passed last week by the Legislature to allow the state to appoint receivers to take over operation of school districts deemed to be financially dysfunctional.

The bill (HB2417) is a response to the financial troubles of the unified school district serving Colorado City, located in a remote area of northwestern Arizona north of the Grand Canyon.

Teachers went unpaid for two months last year because the district ran out of money. Critics blamed the district's financial problems on a bloated work force, among other things.

"I hope it has a significant impact," Napolitano said Wednesday. "I think it finally gives the Department of (Education) and hopefully the attorney general some authority to go in there and clean up that situation and take care of that district."

Passage of the bill was delayed by disagreement among legislators, state officials and education groups over what types of problems in districts could trigger a possible state takeover.

The House last week approved a Senate-passed version of the bill that allows the appointment of receivers for financial mismanagement only.

An earlier House-passed version of the bill (HB2417) would have allowed state takeovers under other circumstances, such as failure to hire certified teachers or refusing to have students take state-required tests.

The bill will take effect 90 days after the Legislature's current session ends.
 
TucsonCitizen.com
Originally broadcast May 11, 2005
 
Back