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Parents and staff press board on consultant pay, contract integrity and a disputed administrator contract

Cartwright Elementary School District Governing Board · December 11, 2025

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Summary

Public commenters and board members raised questions about consultant payments of $10,000 per month to former officials, and assistant principal Brandon West said a signed contract was later replaced with a lower-value version he did not sign; the board promised follow-up and moved two litigation items into executive session.

Several public speakers and a governing board member raised questions Wednesday about district contracting and consultant payments, and an assistant principal asked the board to reinstate a previously signed employment contract.

During agenda adoption, Governing Board member Miss Garcia asked that agenda items 3 and 11 be pulled and alleged that former superintendent Jacob Chavez and a former CFO (identified in the transcript as Zeke Oje) were receiving $10,000 a month from April through November — a figure she calculated as $160,000 over six months. Acting Superintendent Steven Watson responded that the district engages contractors and consultants and that staff would provide a list with more detail.

Brandon West, who identified himself as an assistant principal, said he was offered an assistant-principal position in December 2022 and that a contract was signed in December 2024 placing him at the agreed salary step. He said HR later presented a reduced contract and that an internal audit produced a version with $10,000 less annual pay; West said the district uploaded the reduced contract that he had not signed and asked the board to reinstate the December 2024 contract.

Board members flagged these personnel and contracting questions for further review. Several items related to personnel and litigation were moved to executive session under Arizona open-meeting law; upon resumption the board authorized attorney Yudong Shumway to represent the district in one appeal and approved a settlement in another litigation matter. No public resolution on the consultant-pay question or Brandon West’s requested remedy was recorded in open session.