Classrooms vs. Consultants: The Cost of Outsourced Expertise
Amid financial scandals, calls for resignations and accountability are mounting in school districts accused of mismanagement and poor oversight.
"ESA! ESA! ESA!"
Or is that just a scapegoat?
Arizona school districts are getting roasted for financial pitfalls, and here’s the harsh truth: it’s not vouchers or school choice bleeding resources dry—it’s reckless leadership at the top.
This week, the spotlight sharpened.
In what’s being slammed as one of the biggest screw-ups in Arizona education history, a Phoenix elementary school district is scrambling to claw its way out of a staggering $12.3M buget shortfall.
State 48 News has blown the lid off school district spending concerns for over a year. From taxpayer-funded jet-setting by top admins to massive bonuses for superintendents, the pattern is undeniable.
Our reports are catching the eyes of state lawmakers like Rep. Joseph Chaplik — and Rep. Matt Gress - who just today called for the firing of the governing board members and superintendent who caused the financial mismanagement at Isaac School District.
Why aren’t more Arizona legislators speaking up?
Follow the Money: Who’s Approving It, Where It’s Going, and Why No One’s Asking Questions
Senior Investigative Journalist Jennifer Barber started connecting the dots on school spending when 13 top admin, staff and governing board members were approved to fly to New Orleans—on the taxpayer dime. An explosive year-long series exposes how M&O tax dollars fund globe-trotting versus increased paychecks for teachers. Dive into the reports and the controversy here.
As State 48 News takes a closer look at school boards across the state, we reveal new members shaking up the status quo, asking tough questions about travel spending—and uncovering something far bigger: entrenched connections to costly consultants.
CONSULTING FIRMS & ARIZONA SCHOOL DISTRICTS
In a deadlock vote, the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) board refused to allocate taxpayer dollars to send its superintendent and future board president to the Cognia Leadership Circle Summit.
SUSD Governing Board Member Amy Carney flagged the proposed $6,200 expense buried in the consent agenda. Why does this matter? Consent agendas, meant for routine approvals with no discussion, have become a hiding spot for questionable spending. From taxpayer-funded flights, hotels, and meals to a multi-million-dollar bridge, we’re uncovering it all buried in plain sight.
At the November SUSD meeting, Carney questioned why the board would rush to approve the taxpayer-funded trip with barely a week to book a flight for a newly named board president.
You can watch the full discussion at the 1:42:25 minute mark.
We have edited down to the highlights here.
Scottsdale Unified’s then-Governing Board President Dr. Libby Hart-Wells pressed Superintendent Dr. Scott Menzel to justify the trip’s purpose.
“We are a Cognia Accredited District. So they work with schools all across the country,” explains Dr. Menzel
What is Cognia? Cognia, a nonprofit organization, provides consulting services and claims to have a global network of educators offering accreditation, assessments, and professional learning on a worldwide scale.
Three of its schools are Cognia STEM-accredited: Laguna Elementary, Navajo Elementary, and Saguaro High - making it a Cognia Accredited district.
Under Pressure: The Push to Attend a Summit on Conflict and Public Discord
Dr. Menzel admitted Cognia didn’t just invite him just once—it asked twice—to send him and the not-yet-named board leader to a three-day summit at their headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Why was Scottsdale Unified one of 30 invite-only districts? According to Dr. Menzel, it’s because he “knows people” at Cognia.
State 48 News found District documents dating back to 2022 indicating a partnership with Scottsdale Unified School District. Sources suggest this relationship could stretch back years further—and we’re digging in to find out just how deep it goes and at what cost.
Also interesting is the topic of the Cognia 2025 Summit... Conflict.
Is Dr. Menzel bracing for turmoil in the new year?
“They spend time thinking about districts that would have a synergistic relationship as we look at the challenges ahead for public education. And they wanted to create a meaningful learning opportunity between superintendents and their board presidents in discussing how to move a governance discussion forward,” as described by Dr. Menzel.
Billed as “insights from invited experts on how to navigate conflict and public discord”, speakers included:
Amanda Ripley, “a New York Times bestselling author, a Washington Post contributing columnist, and the co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company that helps people re-imagine conflict.”
AJ Crabill, “the Senior Coach at Effective School Boards and serves as the Director of Governance for the Council of the Great City Schools where he leads school board supports for the nation’s largest urban school systems.”
Crabill’s name comes up in various reports from folks in Houston, Seattle, St. Paul, and Denver. Just last year, the group Not in Our Schools questioned the Arizona Department of Education as to why Crabill - from Texas - was training Arizona school boards.
State 48 News reached out to Cognia for information and to offer an interview. Here’s its Friday-night-before-a-holiday-weekend response.
“Contacting school systems…” We did just that and have an email in to the folks at Scottsdale Unified School District.
As for traveling to Cognia headquarters, the superintendent says he, too, was concerned about approving the trip as a new board president would not be selected until a week prior to the summit. But Cognia was persistent.
“And then they reached out again. And I decided it was at least worth an effort to put on the table because I believe that it will be really important for the five individuals who are on the governing board in January 2025 to find a way to work together,” Dr. Menzel expresses passionately, fueled by the hope of building a unified leadership team through Cognia’s training approach.
Board Memer Carney was one of the 2 dissenting votes. That trip was denied in a deadlock 2-2 vote.
THE COGNIA CONNECTION
We found a long list of Cognia Accredited public and private schools in Arizona including the Deer Valley Unified School District, Legacy Traditional Schools, and Arizona Preparatory Academy- which its website says, “Cognia serves 36,000 institutions, nearly 25 million students, and five million educators every day.”
This is a developing story.
State 48 News Update: Consultant Brought in Briefly to Assist Isaac School District During Financial Crisis
At this week’s emergency meeting on Isaac School District’s financial meltdown, a speaker revealed a budget plan he claims the district asked him to create.
The consultant is Jeremy Calles who revealed he owns and operates two independent consulting firms serving 70 school districts across Arizona. His other full-time job is Superintendent in the Tolleson Union High School District.
New since our initial report: Jeremy Calles wrote to State 48 News he first began working with Isaac School District - as part of his independent consulting company - just last Friday, January 10th. Calles clarifies his relationship with the Isaac School District was brief, "It was only a few hours of work to analyze their situation and draft a plan.” Calles adds his consulting team had not yet been able to "start the cleanup" and begin the process of helping ISD recover financially. Now that Isaac School District is under State receivership, Calles tells us he will only continue to be involved if that is the wish of the Receiver.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
One name keeps popping up in the case of Isaac School District (ISD): former Maricopa County Superintendent Steve Watson.
Turns out, the county treasurer says he alerted Watson to ISD’s financial troubles as early as 2022. On his last day in office, Watson not only wrote the letter calling for an emergency meeting between state and county agencies to find a solution for ISD, but also made last-minute school board appointments in three districts.
In a surprising twist, Steve Watson’s name came up as members of the Cartwright Elementary School District community rallied, urging people to show up at yesterday’s Special Governing Board Meeting.
Sources tell us Watson is attending Cartwright School Board meetings and his name is being floated as a potential superintendent. He’s seen on video from January 16, 2025’s board meeting.
Controversy intensified after the Cartwright board voted to place the interim superintendent Ema Jáuregui on administrative leave, raising further questions about governance practices.
Arizona State Representative Anna Abeytia (D-LD24) took the mic at the Cartwright School District board meeting this week calling out financial mismanagement and questioning the board’s structure.
Rep. Abeytia’s colleague in the House of Representatives is Lydia Hernandez who also happens to be the Cartwright School District Board President. Several in the community call for the resignation of board members Lydia Hernandez and her daughter, 19-year-old Cassandra Hernández, citing concerns over nepotism and lack of transparency.
Cassandra Hernández won her board seat in the November 2024 General Election.
Records show Abeytia won her seat in the House of Representatives in the November 2024 General election, but lost her bid to return to the Cartwright Elementary School Board. She was appointed to the school board in November 2020 and served as board president from March - December 2024.