Steve Watson has failed county schools. It's time for new leadership

A sure sign of failed leadership is to ignore the fundamentals until they mushroom into a crisis.

Or when the crisis occurs, to deny responsibility and deflect blame.

Or to pick fights with the very people who are in a position to help.

In the case of Maricopa County Superintendent Steve Watson, it’s been all of the above.

The head of county schools, who faces two challengers in the July 30 Republican primary, is seeking a third term. He doesn’t deserve the opportunity.

Watson improperly handled state funds

Watson has been on the defensive since accounting irregularities in his office were uncovered two summers ago — problems that pose financial liability to this day.

Maricopa County supervisors discovered in 2022 that he had taken out an unauthorized $2 million loan from the bank using an existing line of credit for which there was no collateral.

An examination of the Accommodation School District that Watson directly oversees revealed commingling involving some $200,000 of funds and improper or missing financial documentation — including how nearly $1.7 million in federal grant money was spent.

Even though they weren’t legally obligated, supervisors approved county funds to cover the $2 million debt. Or else, they said, creditors and employees in the school superintendent’s office would have not gotten paid.

Watson responded to the help — and the scolding that supervisors gave — with a brush-off and excuses.

The crossing of swords wasn’t just with supervisors.

His response? To blame others for the mess

Watson dismissed a state auditor general’s report, claiming it was politically motivated. By what, he never said.

Then a third-party audit this summer confirmed what everyone else had been saying.

It found more than a dozen financial practice deficiencies at the Accommodation School District, as well as an unlawful sale of land that it bought with state money.

As The Arizona Republic reported, state statute requires school districts to return proceeds from land sales “to the state fund from which it was appropriated.”

Which means the Accommodation School District could be on the hook to repay the $6.4 million that it earned from the sale.

It’s a serious potential consequence for a mistake under Watson’s watch, one of many.

Vulnerable students need an effective advocate

More broadly, the auditing firm’s report in late May knocked the Maricopa County Regional School District for failure to keep financial records and meet filing deadlines. The district’s “ineffective” budgeting practices, it concluded, led to “overspending and cash deficits.”

Yet Watson did not display contrition or humility. Instead, he repeatedly swiped at the board of supervisors for not investing in the Accommodation School District and at the county for ignoring his request to create a separate fund that would help avoid mixing the district’s finances.

Use your vote: To choose competence over conspiracy

While the district didn’t contest the findings, Watson said many of the recommended changes were in place or in the works.

It is no wonder he hasn’t found a sympathetic ear at the county for boosting funding for his office.

For all his bluster, Steve Watson has not effectively advocated for vulnerable and nontraditional students, which the county district mostly serves.

It's time for a new county superintendent

We have argued multiple times that the July 30 primary election is a chance for voters to demand competence and seriousness from their elected leaders.

Watson has proved to be lacking.

And, unfortunately, his two challengers in the Republican primary aren’t without questions.

Nickie Kelley is endorsed by Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor, an election conspiracy believer, and former state Superintendent Diane Douglas, whose tenure was marked by fights with everyone from the state Board of Education to Gov. Doug Ducey.

Kelley said she would appoint conservative members to school governing boards, in particular rejecting candidates who believe in DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), emotional learning and critical race theory.

Shelli Boggs has support from many lawmakers who make up the far-right Freedom Caucus, which has denigrated public schools as bastions of “woke” thought.

The Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office must do better.

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Laura Metcalfe in the November general election, a former county schools administrator who has strongly criticized Watson’s handling of the office. She has offered detailed plans for how she would reform the office and improve relationships with county supervisors.

Primary voters must set their eyes on the November ballot.

It's time for fresh leadership at the top.

This is an opinion of The Arizona Republic's editorial board.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County schools need a better advocate than Steve Watson