Measures

Select a measure:

Financial position— General Fund change in fund balance

56 of 207 districts are at high risk for financial position— General Fund change in fund balance

For our analysis, we look at 3 different measures to determine a district's financial position: change in fund balance, operating margin ratio, and operating reserve ratio. Each of the 3 measures analyzes components of a district's General Fund

revenues, expenditures, and ending balances to identify potential risk related to General Fund resources. Although each of these measures looks at similar financial data, they focus on different relationships in that data. We assessed each measure individually to ensure that concerns present in 1 or 2 of the measures were not overlooked based on less concerning results for another measure.

What is this measure telling me, and why is it important?

This measure shows the 1-year percentage change in a district's General Fund balance for each of the most recent 2 years. A negative ratio indicates a decline in fund balance due to spending exceeding revenues in that year. Declining fund balances indicate higher financial risk as less resources remain available for current and future needs.

Tell me more about change in fund balance.

If a district's change in fund balance ratio was -25 percent, the fund balance decreased by 25 percent from the prior year. Some positive or negative changes in fund balance are planned, while others are the result of changes in revenues without corresponding changes in spending. As a result, planned negative shifts in fund balance may not always reflect higher financial risk. However, even districts with greater-than-average fund balances increase their financial risk through large single-year reductions in fund balance.

How were districts identified as high risk for this measure?

All districts with a 1-year General Fund balance decrease of 25 percent or more, for either of the most recent 2 years, were considered high risk for this measure. Additionally, districts with a negative fund balance in the most recent year were considered high risk for this measure even when their fund balance increased from the prior year.

Districts were also considered high risk for this measure if they received an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion

on their FY 2024 audited financial statements or did not submit or submitted an incomplete and unreliable unaudited annual financial reports to the Arizona Department of Education and we were unable to determine a reliable measure result.

How was this measure calculated?

The applicable years' ending fund balances were used to calculate each 1-year change percentage.

How many districts have been identified as high risk for this measure in each of the last 5 years?

Report date	Number of districts at high risk
December 2021	45 of 207
December 2022	33 of 207
December 2023	40 of 207
January 2025	47 of 207
January 2026	56 of 207

Data source

General Fund amounts were obtained from districts' audited financial statements or unaudited annual financial reports

(AFR) as indicated below. Districts that are not required by State law to receive an annual audit generally do not prepare annual financial statements. However, all school districts are required to prepare AFRs each year. To analyze similar data when AFR data was used, we summed the applicable General Fund amounts from all funds each individual district designated as part of its General Fund in the AFR. However, financial statement and AFR amounts may not be consistent for the same funds if auditors identify adjustments that are reflected in financial statement amounts to correct errors or meet governmental financial statement reporting requirements. To avoid distorting the measure ratios based on reporting inconsistencies between unaudited AFR data and audited financial statement data, we did not compare data across those sources.

Fiscal year 2025: Amounts were obtained from unaudited district AFRs submitted to Arizona Department of Education (ADE) as of November 24, 2025.
Fiscal year 2024: Amounts were obtained from district-submitted audited financial statements, if available. Otherwise, amounts were obtained from district AFRs submitted to ADE as of November 24, 2025.

Districts at high risk for this measure

School district	County	Legislative district(s)	FY 24 to FY 25	FY 23 to FY 24	Additional information
		1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Agua Fria Union High School District	Maricopa County	22, 23, 25, and 29	-3.4%	-31.1%	No additional information
Ajo Unified School District	Pima County	23	-47.3%	-0.9%	No additional information
Amphitheater Unified School District	Pima County	17, 18, and 20	-70.9%	-13.6%	No additional information
Antelope Union High School District 1 of 9 highest-risk districts	Yuma County	23 and 25	-100.0%	36.1%	No additional information
Ash Creek Elementary School District	Cochise County	19	-2.3%	-32.6%	No additional information
Balsz Elementary School District	Maricopa County	8	-28.3%	-6.1%	No additional information
Bisbee Unified School District	Cochise County	19 and 21	-26.6%	-10.6%	No additional information
Bouse Elementary School District	La Paz County	30	-54.0%	-10.0%	No additional information
Bowie Unified School District	Cochise County	19	-27.5%	2.7%	No additional information
Camp Verde Unified School District	Yavapai County	1	-100.0%	-2.9%	No additional information
Canon Elementary School District	Yavapai County	1	-43.1%	11.1%	No additional information
Cave Creek Unified School District	Maricopa County	3	-4.5%	-39.0%	No additional information
Cedar Unified School District	Navajo County	6	-100.0%	30.0%	No additional information
Chinle Unified School District	Apache County	6	-37.3%	-28.8%	No additional information
Chino Valley Unified School District	Yavapai County	1	-27.1%	-19.0%	No additional information
Continental Elementary School District	Pima County	19 and 21	0.0%	4.3%	FY 2025 fund balance amount was negative.
Coolidge Unified School District	Pinal County	16	-42.6%	20.9%	No additional information
Crown King Elementary School District	Yavapai County	1	31.2%	-58.4%	No additional information
Duncan Unified School District	Greenlee County	19	-34.4%	-0.4%	No additional information
Fountain Hills Unified School District	Maricopa County	3	100.0%	-75.6%	No additional information
Hayden-Winkelman Unified School District 1 of 9 highest-risk districts	Gila County	7	-26.9%	35.0%	No additional information
Hyder Elementary School District	Yuma County	25	-100.0%	100.0%	No additional information
Isaac Elementary School District 1 of 9 highest-risk districts	Maricopa County	26	100.0%	-100.0%	No additional information
Joseph City Unified School District 1 of 9 highest-risk districts	Navajo County	6 and 7	-55.2%	-21.9%	No additional information
Kirkland Elementary School District	Yavapai County	1	-67.6%	-39.6%	No additional information

Measures

Financial position— General Fund change in fund balance

56 of 207 districts are at high risk for financial position— General Fund change in fund balance

Districts at high risk for this measure

Additional school district resources

Arizona Auditor General

Measures

Financial position— ​ General Fund change in fund balance

56 of 207 districts are at high risk for ​ financial position— ​ General Fund change in fund balance

Districts at high risk for this measure

Additional school district resources

Arizona Auditor General

Financial position— General Fund change in fund balance

56 of 207 districts are at high risk for financial position— General Fund change in fund balance