MESA, Ariz. — The East Valley Institute of Technology announced Thursday the school has notified the FBI and state auditors about a 2011 lease agreement that may have resulted in EVIT being underpaid millions of dollars in rent.
Located near Main Street and Alma School Road in Mesa, EVIT is a public trade school that offers career training to high school students and adults.
In 2011, the school entered into an agreement for Adelante Healthcare to lease out about 2.5 acres of the EVIT campus.
But the school officials have discovered that the 40-year lease was allegedly not approved by the EVIT Governing Board nor the voters in the Career Technical Education District, as required by law.
According to EVIT, the lease was renegotiated which resulted in Adelante paying $60,000 in rent to a third party and EVIT receiving $2,700, an amount the school claims is lower than the market value.
Nobody involved with the lease approval and negotiation apparently still works at EVIT, the school district said.
The school has notified the FBI, state attorney general and auditors about the lease.
“EVIT has not concluded anything nefarious has occurred, but it is our duty to report issues we have concerns with,” EVIT Superintendent Dr. Chad Wilson said in a statement. “EVIT is an institution funded by taxpayers. It is our great responsibility and privilege to ensure that we are good stewards of the financial investment taxpayers have made in our school.”
Following a recent audit completed by the state, EVIT began taking a deeper dive into its finances, Wilson said, and "that’s when we discovered the problem with the Adelante lease.”
The EVIT Governing Board was informed about the issue during a meeting on Sept. 19.
A spokesperson for Adelante Healthcare said the organization is in the process of reviewing documents to help clarify issues raised by EVIT administrators. The spokesperson released the following statement this week:
Adelante has remained in compliance with the then-executed contract and the various subsequent assignments and amendments and will continue to do so as EVIT conducts further diligence regarding its statutory requirements.
Adelante is committed to being a good steward of community-serving resources and looks forward to supporting all interested parties in their prompt resolution of this matter.
Just a few years ago, EVIT took action regarding issues and concerns with district operations.
In 2019, the school's governing board placed the superintendent and two principals on leave amidst an ongoing investigation. The superintendent later parted ways with EVIT.
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