The Mingus Union High School District Governing Board discussed the interscholastic eligibility of non-enrolled Empowerment Scholarship Account students to participate in the school’s Arizona Interscholastic Association-sanctioned athletics for the 2025-26 school year at their regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 7.
In July, the board voted on an AIA bylaw that allowed online charter students to be eligible to play in Mingus’ sports for the current school year.
MUHSD Superintendent Melody R. Herne, Ph.D., stated there are no AIA bylaws specific to ESA students participating.
Yancey DeVore, MUHS Athletic Director, said his concern is with the lack of a bylaw pertaining to ESA students. If they were to lump ESA students into a non-enrollment bylaw, it would have to have been approved prior to the start of the academic year.
DeVore added there are situations that may arise where MUHS would not be protected per AIA bylaws. He gave the hypothetical example that if one of Mingus’ sports teams became regional champions, and someone points out an ESA student is not enrolled at Mingus, they would have to find a bylaw to apply to that situation or potentially forfeit every game the team played in. While it may never get to this point, it is a concern, DeVore said.
While some schools and districts across the state have chosen to put things into place to allow ESA students to participate, Herne clarified there is nothing in regards to insurance for non-enrolled students. Since there are no specific bylaws to ESA students participating in school sports, they would refer to the non-enrolled student portion of the AIA bylaw, which must have been decided upon prior to the start of the school year.
Board President Taylor Bell asked DeVore how this situation would compare if a transfer student moved from another school but the football season had already started.
DeVore said there are transfer bylaws that apply, which are different from the enrollment bylaws, and based on the transfer rule, the student would have to sit out 50% of the season if transferring prior to the start of the season. If they transferred during the season or it’s a double transfer, they may have to sit out the whole year. There are other exceptions which can be fought through the hardship appeal.
“The first question is whether or not we should allow ESA students at all to participate in Mingus related sports or any other activities on campus,” board member Will David said. “That’s the fundamental question … I have asked for a legal review because I’m concerned about conflict of interest issues that might be present on the board.”
“ESA students draw money from the state,” David said. “That is money that because of parental choice, which I’ll always support, ultimately hurts Mingus’ bottom line because it has to do with butts in seats, the ADM — the average daily membership. Mingus is for Mingus enrolled students … that’s what we fight so hard to provide transparency to the public and make sure that we’re good stewards of the dollars that we’re allocated, which are woefully short.”
He added, along with a shoestring budget, the state is seeing a trend of decreased enrollments.
“We are trying to ensure that Mingus for Mingus students is the best possible experience it can be with academic readiness at its core,” David said. “How far do we want to go to keep opening the doors for everybody who wants to have their cake and eat it, too?
“I think we’re on a very slippery slope if we open the door for everybody. You’re either a student here or you’re not.”
Vice President Ashley Koepnick said she sees no reason to not allow ESA students to come play at Mingus if they pay the $2,000 fee per season.
Bell agreed, saying it comes down to an argument about ESA versus an argument about whether they want certain students to play on their sports teams. She brought up the board’s strategic plan and how community is a strong thread in that.
“It’s not like these kids have a bunch of choices where we live to go play at a different school,” Bell said. “This is one small community. What if that one home-schooled ESA kid is your star player?”
She said if David was concerned about ESA students taking money from the state, Mingus is recouping that money with the $2,000 fee.
“I think that we should allow those that want to play here, because again, where are they going to go?” board member Rev. Frank Nevarez asked. He named other schools in the state that allow ESA students to participate in sports and believes it’s the way things are heading statewide.
“Parental choice is a choice,” David said. “You chose ESA, there are repercussions for choosing ESA … and I want to know, does anybody on the board take ESA money?”
He clarified he is not fighting ESA, which was originally set up to serve handicapped, then disadvantaged children, but it has continued to expand beyond its original intent.
Bell stated she thinks incorporating this into the 2025-56 school year would be difficult and could potentially cause hardships for current athletes. Given the feedback from DeVore, she said she is fine not voting it to be in place this school year, but is unsure why they would allow it for one group of students and not another. Superintendent Herne clarified that in July, they voted on a specific AIA bylaw, not on a specific group of students.
“Could something like this pass and there never be a conflict?” DeVore asked. “Absolutely. My concern is that if there’s a challenge, and I have to file an appeal to the AIA to protect our programs, it’s going to be a bigger mess dealing with families when they don’t have 40 kids going to the playoffs than that one or two ESA kids in that program. Again, I’m not completely against the ESA, there’s just no bylaw protecting our kids right now.”
David motioned to table this item until they have more information, such as insurance implications.
Koepnick and board members Babcock and David voted in favor of tabling this, while Bell and Nevarez voted in opposition.
