Help us investigate Arizona’s broken public school buildings

For decades, Arizona public school children and their teachers have suffered in buildings with problems like leaky roofs and poorly functioning air conditioners.

Funding for school facilities remains woefully lacking, a lawsuit claims. The state’s School Facilities Board in the past couldn't keep up with its responsibilities.

So we need your help investigating conditions in Arizona public schools.

We’re concerned about the quality of school facilities. That means things like buildings, roofs, cooling/heating systems or air quality, fire alarms, security measures, lighting, chairs and desks or work surfaces, cafeteria equipment, technology like computers, buses, books — especially if they violate the state’s minimum guidelines.

Have you been impacted by flawed school facilities?

We want to hear from students, teachers and parents. To get in touch, please use the form attached to this story at azcentral.com as we’re expecting a lot of responses.

We’re trying hard to include the perspectives of the people most impacted by conditions at public schools. If you’re comfortable, please consider uploading a selfie video following the steps in the form, describing how Arizona public school conditions have affected you. If you’re interested, please start by saying your name, age, your school, whether you’re a student, teacher or parent, and briefly describe what you’ve seen and how it impacted learning.

Or share pictures or videos you captured of the conditions in your school.

We’re committed to your security. We gratefully accept anonymous tips, which we confirm through additional reporting steps, including gathering records and conducting on-the-record interviews with sources we name in our stories. If you think you need additional security, you might consider using an encrypted email account such as ProtonMail.

Or send us information by snail mail. You can mail letters, tips, disks, USB drives, or physical copies of documents to:

Attn.: Andrew Ford

The Arizona Republic

200 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix, 85004