A sure sign of failing leadership is ignoring underlying problems until they escalate into a crisis.
Or to deny responsibility and deflect blame when a crisis occurs.
Or they may pick fights with people who are in a position to help them.
In the case of Maricopa County Superintendent Steve Watson, all of the above is true.
The county schools superintendent, facing two challengers in the July 30 Republican primary, is seeking a third term, but he doesn't deserve the opportunity.
Watson mishandled state funds.
Watson has been on the defensive since accounting irregularities were discovered at his firm two summers ago, resulting in financial liability that continues to this day.
Maricopa County Overseers discovered in 2022 He had taken out an unauthorized $2 million loan from the bank using an existing unsecured line of credit.
An investigation into the residential school district, which Watson oversees directly, uncovered about $200,000 in misallocations of funds and improper or missing financial documents, including the misuse of about $1.7 million in federal grant funds.
Though not legally required to do so, supervisors approved county funds to pay off the $2 million in debt. Otherwise, creditors and employees of the superintendent's office would not have received their payments, supervisors said.
Watson responded to offers of help or reprimand from his superiors with ignorance and excuses.
It wasn't just his boss who was at odds.
His response? Blaming others for the chaos.
Watson dismissed the state auditor general's report as politically motivated, though he never said what those motivations were.
And a third-party audit this summer confirmed what everyone else had been saying.
The investigation uncovered more than a dozen flawed financial practices at the accommodation district, as well as illegal sales of land purchased with state funds.
As The Arizona Republic reported, state law requires school districts to return any proceeds from the sale of land “to the state fund from which the proceeds originated.”
That means the boarding school district could be obligated to pay back the $6.4 million it made from the sale.
This was just one of many mistakes made under Watson's watch.
Vulnerable students need effective advocates
More broadly, the auditor's office in late May accused the Maricopa County Regional School District of not keeping financial records and missing filing deadlines in a report that concluded the district's “inefficient” budgeting practices led to “overspending and cash shortfalls.”
But Watson showed no remorse or humility. Instead, he repeatedly criticized the Board of Supervisors for not investing in the overnight school district and the county for ignoring his requests to create a separate fund to avoid financial chaos for the school district.
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The district did not dispute the findings, but Watson said many of the recommended changes have already been implemented or are in the works.
It’s no wonder there’s no sympathetic voice in the county to increased funding for his office.
Steve Watson, for all his big talk, has not done anything effective to serve the vulnerable and non-traditional students that the county school district primarily serves.
It's time for a new county commissioner to take office.
We have argued many times that the July 30 primary is an opportunity for voters to demand competence and seriousness from their elected leaders.
Watson proved inadequate.
And unfortunately, his two challengers in the Republican primary are not without doubt.
Nikki Kelly has the endorsement of election conspiracy theorist Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O'Connor and former state Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas, who feuded with everyone from the State Board of Education to Gov. Doug Ducey during her tenure.
Kelly said he would appoint conservative members to the school board, specifically rejecting candidates who espouse DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), affective learning and critical race theory.
Shelley Boggs has the support of many members of the far-right Freedom Caucus, a party that has derided public schools as bastions of “woke” ideology.
The Maricopa County Supervisor's Office needs to try harder.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Laura Metcalf in the November general election. Metcalf is a former county superintendent who has been a vocal critic of Watson's performance as superintendent. She has laid out a detailed plan for how she would reform the superintendent's job and improve relationships with county supervisors.
Primary election voters should keep an eye on the ballot in November.
It's time for new leadership at the top.
This is the opinion of The Arizona Republic's editorial board.
