The History of Desegregation Funding in Arizona: Why TUSD Receives $63.7 Million and Which Other School Districts Receive Similar Funding
John C. Blackshire, Jr. The Accountware Group | November 2026
A Special Property Tax That Began More Than 40 Years Ago
Every year, Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) budgets approximately $63.7 million for desegregation-related activities. Unlike ordinary school operating funds, these resources are supported by a special property-tax mechanism established by the Arizona Legislature more than four decades ago.
The funding originated from efforts to remedy racial discrimination in public schools. Over time, however, it evolved into a continuing source of revenue for certain Arizona school districts.
This raises important questions for taxpayers and school district governing boards.
Why was this funding established? Which school districts qualify? Does the funding continue after federal court supervision ends? And who determines whether the money is being spent effectively?
Understanding the history is particularly important for TUSD because the District achieved unitary status in 2022, a decision upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2025.
Although federal judicial supervision ended, Arizona law permits qualifying districts to continue certain desegregation-related activities and funding.
1974–1978: The Lawsuits That Changed TUSD
TUSD's desegregation history began with two federal lawsuits filed in 1974.
The Fisher plaintiffs represented African American students, while the Mendoza plaintiffs represented Mexican American students. Both cases challenged discriminatory practices in the District's schools.
The cases were consolidated, and in 1978 the federal court approved a settlement establishing desegregation requirements.
These requirements addressed student assignments, school integration, educational opportunities, and other practices associated with the District's history of segregation.
The settlement also helped establish magnet school programs intended to encourage voluntary integration.
The original desegregation obligations were not simply a requirement to spend additional money. They were intended to correct discriminatory conditions and provide more equitable educational opportunities. <Cite refs={["turn231651search12","turn231651search13"]}/>
1983–1985: Arizona Creates a Special Funding Mechanism
In 1983, the Arizona Legislature authorized school districts operating under federal desegregation orders to raise additional local property-tax revenue to finance compliance activities.
At the time, TUSD was the only district meeting the original statutory eligibility requirement.
In 1985, lawmakers made the authorization permanent and expanded eligibility to include districts operating under administrative agreements with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
The resulting statutory framework, now principally found in Arizona Revised Statutes §15-910, permitted qualifying districts to budget certain desegregation expenses outside ordinary school district revenue limits.
The authorization was significant for two reasons.
First, qualifying districts could raise additional property-tax revenue beyond their ordinary operating budget authority.
Second, the additional desegregation levy did not require the same voter approval process applicable to certain school district budget overrides.
This created a distinctive funding arrangement: local taxpayers could be assessed additional taxes for qualifying desegregation activities without a separate voter-approved override election.
2002–2007: The Legislature Places Limits on Desegregation Spending
As more Arizona districts qualified for desegregation funding, the Legislature began imposing restrictions on how much districts could budget.
In 2002, lawmakers established limits tied to prior-year desegregation funding.
In 2004, the Legislature adopted a more flexible approach that permitted certain increases associated with enrollment growth and inflation.
The changes reflected a continuing policy challenge: how to provide resources for civil rights compliance while limiting the growth of special property-tax authority.
The funding mechanism was no longer limited to TUSD. By 2007, Arizona legislative records identified 19 school districts budgeting desegregation-related expenditures.
Which Other Arizona School Districts Have Received Desegregation Funding?
A 2007 Arizona legislative fact sheet identified the following 19 districts as budgeting for costs associated with federal desegregation orders or OCR administrative agreements.
School District | Historical Desegregation Funding Status |
Agua Fria Union High School District | Listed in 2007 |
Amphitheater Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Buckeye Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Cartwright Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Flagstaff Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Glendale Union High School District | Listed in 2007 |
Holbrook Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Isaac Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Maricopa Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Mesa Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Phoenix Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Phoenix Union High School District | Listed in 2007 |
Roosevelt Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Scottsdale Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Tempe Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Tucson Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Washington Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Wilson Elementary | Listed in 2007 |
Window Rock Unified | Listed in 2007 |
Source: Arizona Legislature, HB 2119 Senate Fact Sheet, 2007. This is a historical list, not a verified roster of districts receiving desegregation revenue in FY2026 or FY2027.
The Arizona Auditor General subsequently reported that 18 school districts budgeted desegregation-related funding in FY2016.
The number of qualifying or participating districts has therefore changed over time. Historical participation does not establish that every district on this list continues to levy the tax today.
For TUSD, the list is especially interesting because two districts included in our earlier comparison of Arizona school district management effectiveness—Amphitheater Unified and
Mesa Unified—also appear in the historical desegregation funding records.
This matters when comparing revenue per student.
A valid comparison should separately identify desegregation revenue for every participating district rather than treating TUSD as the only district with access to such funding.
2018–2024: The Property-Tax Change and Arizona Supreme Court Decision
In 2018, the Arizona Legislature changed the funding mechanism for desegregation expenditures from primary to secondary property taxes.
This distinction matters because secondary property taxes are treated differently under Arizona's constitutional property-tax limitations.
The change shifted financial responsibility toward local taxpayers rather than the State General Fund.
In July 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the Legislature's authority to make this change and rejected the claim that the State was obligated to reimburse the affected desegregation expenses. <Cite ref="turn231651search2"/>
2022–2025: TUSD Leaves Federal Court Supervision
TUSD's long-running federal desegregation case reached an important turning point in July 2022 when the federal district court determined that TUSD had achieved unitary status.
On January 15, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the determination.
The ruling ended federal judicial supervision of the District's desegregation obligations. It did not eliminate Arizona's statutory authorization to continue qualifying desegregation expenditures.
Consequently, responsibility for monitoring TUSD's ongoing programs shifted substantially toward the elected Governing Board and District management.
FY2025: Seventeen Arizona Districts Levy Desegregation Taxes
The Arizona Department of Revenue's FY2025 desegregation tax levy schedule provides a more recent picture than the historical list.
Tax year 2024 levies supporting FY2025. Amounts are levies, not audited expenditures.</text>
School District | FY2025 Desegregation Tax Levy |
Tucson Unified | $63,711,047 |
Phoenix Union High School | $55,311,838 |
Roosevelt Elementary | $13,315,300 |
Tempe Elementary | $12,982,591 |
Buckeye Elementary | $11,604,890 |
Phoenix Elementary | $11,143,255 |
Mesa Unified | $8,611,501 |
Scottsdale Unified | $7,352,925 |
Glendale Union High School | $6,085,080 |
Washington Elementary | $4,972,946 |
Isaac Elementary | $4,900,713 |
Cartwright Elementary | $4,536,087 |
Amphitheater Unified | $4,025,000 |
Flagstaff Unified | $2,240,387 |
Wilson Elementary | $1,834,089 |
Maricopa Unified | $1,288,107 |
Agua Fria Union High School | $998,799 |
Total | $214,914,568 |
Source: Arizona Department of Revenue, FY2025 Desegregation Tax Levies and Rates.
TUSD accounted for approximately 29.6% of the statewide desegregation tax levies identified in this schedule.
The Arizona Auditor General's January 2026 financial risk analysis separately reported $63,709,826 in TUSD FY2025 desegregation revenue/budget capacity data. That amount is close to, but not identical to, the property-tax levy reported by the Department of Revenue.
What Arizona Law Requires
Arizona Revised Statutes §15-910 establishes conditions for qualifying desegregation expenditures. Among other requirements, expenditures must be educationally justifiable, promote equal educational opportunities, support systemic improvements, and be consistent with the applicable remediation plan.
The statute also generally limits annual desegregation expenditures to the amount budgeted for FY2009 and requires the secondary property-tax levy to be separately identified on property-tax statements.
The statute expressly permits qualifying continuing activities after the original court order or OCR agreement ends.
The Accountability Question for TUSD
TUSD's desegregation funding has continued for more than four decades, even though federal court supervision has ended.
That history creates an important distinction between legal authorization and management accountability.
The existence of statutory authority to collect desegregation taxes does not eliminate the need to demonstrate that expenditures satisfy legal requirements and produce measurable results.
TUSD's Governing Board should annually receive a report showing actual desegregation revenue and expenditures, program objectives, measurable results, compliance with statutory requirements, and significant changes in funding allocations.
The Audit Committee should evaluate the adequacy of the controls supporting those reports.
The central question is no longer simply why TUSD originally received desegregation funding. It is whether the District can demonstrate that today's expenditures continue to serve their authorized purposes effectively.
Comments