A hearing in Yavapai Superior Court resulted in a compromise victory for the Mingus Union High School District Governing Board following two days of argument and testimony from both advocates and opponents of school district consolidation, as the two sides agreed to cancel the planned Nov. 6 vote, while allowing for a future vote on consolidation.
“This could go either way in this court, this could go either way in the court of appeals, this could go either way in the Supreme Court,” Yavapai Superior Court Judge David L. Mackey, who presided over the hearing, said in his remarks after reading the agreed-upon terms. “But the parties have at this point agreed to avoid the cost and fight that will be coming, and ultimately engage in a process that will allow the voters in the Verde Valley to make a decision up or down on consolidation of these school districts.”
At the close of the hearing, Mackey said: “I’m very pleased with it. I know there will be feelings on each side, but let me assure everyone that probably no one would have been truly satisfied with a decision I would have made after two days of hearings. This is a good opportunity and a neighborly opportunity to recognize there are legitimate differences among good people in this community that need to ultimately be resolved by the people in this community. I wish you all well in that regard.”
Under the agreement, Yavapai County Superintendent Tim Carter, who was a nominal defendant in the case, will cease preparing for a November vote on the consolidation of MUHSD and Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District.
Per the agreement, the MUHSD Governing Board also withdrew challenges to Arizona Revised Statute § 15-459(B)(7), a bill Arizona Legislature passed this spring that allowed school district consolidation to go to a vote in certain school districts with the support of only one district Governing Board.
The Mingus board, along with several members of the community who served as co-plaintiffs, challenged the bill as unconstitutional, arguing that it was targeted at the Mingus school district, and that it should not apply retroactively to signatures sought for the petition to consolidate MUHS and COCSD, which circulated before the bill was passed. The court made no official ruling on this challenge, and the school board agreed to not challenge the constitutionality of ARS § 15-459(B)(7) in a future consolidation vote.
The plaintiffs also waived their right to challenge the petitions circulated in a future drive seeking a consolidation vote, though they retain the right to challenge individual signatures in a future consolidation petition.
“This is, at the end of the day, exactly what we wanted,” MUHSD Governing Board member James Ledbetter said after the hearing. Ledbetter said he hopes future discussions of consolidation can still happen, but that they will include more cooperation between representatives of the high school and consolidation advocates. He said he hopes to involve the board in discussions on the language of a future consolidation petition and vote.
The MUHSD board still has to approve the agreement at an open school board meeting, which it intends to do Monday, Aug. 27, at 4 p.m.
Representatives of the Committee for Better Upper Verde Valley Schools and other defendants did not provide a statement by press time. For further detail on the court hearing and updates on the consolidation vote, read the Wednesday, Aug. 29, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
