Overview
- Out of 207 districts analyzed, nine are rated highest financial risk and nine are approaching that status, up from two and seven last year, respectively.
- Districts in the highest-risk tier include Tucson Unified, Isaac Elementary and Wilson Elementary, with others such as Scottsdale Unified and Balsz Elementary listed as approaching the threshold.
- The Auditor General evaluates 10 measures, including changes in weighted student count, reserve and margin ratios, fund balance shifts, redirected capital funds, frozen tax rates and receivership status.
- State Superintendent Tom Horne rejected claims that the ESA voucher program’s roughly 100,000 students are the primary driver of the risk designations, pointing instead to cost management when enrollment falls.
- District responses include Scottsdale Unified approving two school closures for 2026–27 and weighing more than 50 position cuts to address a $7.7 million gap, Gilbert voting to close Pioneer Elementary, Wilson working with state agencies while noting no evidence of instability or misuse, and multiple districts submitting action plans to the Auditor General.