Overview

• The bipartisan Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted unanimously to direct the Arizona Auditor General to conduct a special audit of the 14,000-student district.
• Former principal Felipe Mandurraga told lawmakers the superintendent took steps to inflate attendance and that a teacher who sent a shirtless photo to a student resigned without reports to police or the state board.
• The audit will examine conflicts of interest, public-records compliance, land leases, bonds and override elections, student achievement monitoring, and responses to school safety threats.
• Superintendent Jeremy Calles denied illegal conduct, said he welcomes the audit, blamed a human resources deputy for the resignation decision, and argued Mandurraga also had a duty to report the incident.
• Scrutiny includes a $25 million lease-back with Isaac Elementary that critics call possibly unlawful and potentially profitable by about $7 million, plus a $26,000 fee the district sought for two years of records, while Calles pursues a defamation suit against Rep. Matt Gress and plans to meet the Auditor General this month.