Denise Birdwell has entered a plea agreement with a misdemeanor charge in a case brought against her by Arizona.
Birdwell, who was a superintendent in both the Higley and Scottsdale Unified school districts, was originally indicted on 23 felony counts, including fraud and conflicts of interest.
She was a superintendent at the Higley and Scottsdale Unified School Districts. Birdwell’s original indictment only covered her time at the Higley Unified School District.
Police said she hired someone unqualified for a position and was accused of accepting thousands of dollars in unreported payments from builders and contractors.
As part of her plea agreement, Birdwell pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. The agreement calls for probation and $2,500 in fines plus penalties.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct what the original indictment covered and what she was accused of.
-
The Phoenix police chief has put a sergeant on paid leave while an internal investigation of the sergeant’s behavior at an ICE protest in the East Valley is conducted.
-
The Republican-led Arizona Legislature is looking to ease the requirement that students be taught the relationship between mental and physical health, as well as other social and emotional learning.
-
The Chandler Unified School District is launching a new safety committee after a student was hit by a car outside Chandler High School. Jayben Camacho was hit on April 2, while crossing a street near the campus. He was taken to a hospital and later died.
-
The Analogs is a series of stories about people who make things by hand — and what those things tell us about those people.
-
In this special edition of KJZZ’s Friday NewsCap, we are focusing on one of the most important issues facing our state: education.