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Former Higley Superintendent Dr. Denise Birdwell is suing the school district to cover the cost of her legal defense in an ongoing criminal case.

Denise Birdwell A former superintendent of the Scottsdale and Higley unified school districts has been indicted as part of an investigation of possible misuse of public money tied to school construction. A report by the Arizona Auditor General found that Denise Birdwell may have conspired with three other individuals employed by Higley district vendors to violate state procurement laws when the district awarded the nearly $2.6 million contract to Educational Facilities Development Services (EFDS).  The report states that Gary Aller and Steven Nielsen with EFDS, and Birdwell "may have also v...

View Comments Authorities say while Denise Birdwell was running the Higley Unified School District, she was lining her own pockets with money she got in a kickback scheme involving school construction.  The Attorney General's Office said the four were involved in a fraud scheme tied to rigged contracts that cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Prosecutors accused Birdwell of taking payments for helping a company win a bid for building two middle schools in 2012. Birdwell also misspent $6 million of public money that she diverted from a restricted fund to help cover construction costs re...

Ex-Higley and Scottsdale schools superintendent Denise Birdwell, 3 others indicted in kickback scheme Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic © Michael Chow/The Republic Scottsdale Unified School District superintendent Denise Birdwell Authorities say while Denise Birdwell was running the Higley Unified School District, she was lining her own pockets with money she got in a kickback scheme involving school construction.  The Attorney General's Office said the four were involved in a fraud scheme tied to rigged contracts that cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Prosecutors accus...

An investigation by the Arizona Auditor General’s Office has found former Higley superintendent Dr. Angela Denise Birdwell, her close associate, Kay Hartwell Hunnicutt, and two Higley vendors, Gary Aller and Steven Nielsen may have violated State procurement laws. The investigation requested by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office found that the violations stem from a $2,557,125 Project development services contract. The Auditor General Office submitted its report to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which on July 13, 2021, presented evidence to the State Grand Jury. The action re...