Colorado City raid result of 2-year review of finances
 
By Patrice St. Germain
patrices@thespectrum.com
 
COLORADO CITY - The search at the Colorado City Unified School District No. 14 administration building on Tuesday by the Arizona Attorney General's Office was the result of a two-year investigation, press secretary Andrea Esquer said Thursday.

Esquer said the Attorney General's Office became concerned when the district began running out of money and cutting worthless checks to teachers.

"We wanted to ensure teachers are compensated correctly and protected and the kids are entitled to a public education," Esquer said. "The reason we did this (served the search warrant) is we are starting to prepare a case for receivership when the law comes into effect in August, and we wanted to make sure the record remained intact and were whole."

During the nine-hour search, agents from the Attorney General's Office nearly filled a 28-foot U-Haul truck.

Mohave County School District Superintendent Mike File said there were problems at the school, which served about 300 students.

"Arizona prides itself on local control, and it works everywhere but there (Colorado City) because there is no accountability," File said.

File said among some of the problems at the school was the fact that some bus drivers were making more money than the teachers, and there was never any clear track of what the administrators - Superintendent Alvin Barlow, business manager Jeffrey Jessop, assistant business manager Oliver Barlow and Principal Kimball Barlow - were earning.

Although school district contracts are public records, File said he had never seen contracts for the four men.

"This isn't about religious persecution," File said. "This is about taxpayers' money and these children's education."

Esquer said a list of items seized during the search may be available as early as today, and File is hoping once the records are examined, it will bring to light where the district has been spending its money.

The Colorado City school budget for the 2004-05 school year was $6.7 million for about 300 students and 71 staff members, compared to the Littlefield Unified School District No. 9, which had a budget of $4.8 million for 500 students and 37 staff members.

The school districts receive budget money from property taxes, state aid, federal grants and projects.

The school district property tax rate for Colorado City has fluctuated over the years, from a high of $11.64 per hundred dollars of valuation for the 1998-99 school year to a low of $3.55 for the 2003-04 school year.

But because of legislative cuts, the district lost $400,000 in state aid for the 2004-05 school year, which required a tax rate increase to $9.96. Teachers' salaries also were cut about 15 percent.

Esquer said she could not comment on who may face charges in connection with the search on Tuesday, or what those charges may be.

Attempts to reach the Barlows and governing board president F. Lee Bistline were unsuccessful Thursday.

Jeffrey Jessop said he had no comment on the search at the school at this time.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published May 27, 2005
 
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