On the last day of the 2018 legislative session, lawmakers were poised to pass a budget that would give educators large raises and require greater financial accountability for both district and charter schools.
House Speaker J.D. Mesnard and Rep. Eddie Farnsworth had other plans.
Well after midnight, Mesnard, with Farnsworth as point man during a testy floor debate with Democrats, added an amendment to the budget. It exempted charter schools from procurement and conflict-of-interest laws and from a requirement to disclose their entire annual spending plans on school websites. . .
Farnsworth wasn't just a lawmaker interested in the details of the legislation. He also runs a four-campus East Valley charter chain that — because of the amendment — would remain free of state oversight of its spending.
Farnsworth's involvement in the last-minute maneuver highlights how the Gilbert Republican's roles as a state lawmaker and charter-school operator have for years mingled at the Arizona Capitol, almost always to the benefit of Farnsworth and the state's other charter school operators. . .
"No one was advocating for less transparency," Farnsworth said.
He contends charter operators are private contractors and should be treated like the companies that build roads — not like traditional school districts. Many businesses, he notes, profit from building classrooms or selling buses and curriculum to public schools.
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FACTOIDS IN THE REPORT:
> The first school started with just 125 kids, serving kindergarten to third-graders. There were six teachers and a principal.
> Farnsworth said finances were tight early on, and there were times when he didn't take a salary.
> Over the next two decades, Farnsworth's brand of public education took root in the East Valley, where the Farnsworth name is well-known in Mormon circles.
> By 2006, Farnsworth and his charter-school partners entered the construction business, building the first Benjamin Franklin school funded by millions of dollars more in debt, he said.
> Farnsworth, because of term limits, is running for the state Senate in District 12 — one of the state's reddest districts.
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REPUBLIC INVESTIGATION: Who's making money off charter schools?
ABOUT THIS REPORT: Throughout 2018, investigative reporter Craig Harris examines the finances of some of Arizona’s most prominent charter schools to reveal how they spend the tax dollars they receive, who profits off the operations, and what those deals mean for the future of education.
Reach the reporter at craig.harris@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8478 or on Twitter @charrisazrep.
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