A CEO running an Arizona charter school with approximately 225 students earned $520,000 in total compensation during the 2024-25 school year, according to IRS and state education records.
Kurt Huzar serves as CEO of the North Star Charter School, Inc., a nonprofit organization that runs Arizona Preparatory Academy. The charter school, located near 99th Avenue and Indian School Road in Phoenix, helps at-risk students earn their high school diplomas.
According to Arizona Department of Education enrollment data from October 2025, about 225 students attend Arizona Preparatory Academy. Huzar’s total compensation is listed on the charter organization’s IRS Form 990 filing. The filing for the 2024-25 school year showed Huzar earned $520,000 in combined base salary, bonus, deferred compensation, and nontaxable benefits.
State Rep. Nancy Gutierrez says Huzar’s salary is a questionable use of public funds.
"Absolutely inappropriate. Not okay," said Gutierrez, D-District 18.
Gutierrez is a longtime teacher who serves as the assistant Democratic leader in the Arizona House. She also sits on the education committee. She sponsored a bill earlier this year to require charter schools to publicly release employment contracts and salary information for their chief financial officer or other top administrator. The bill never received a hearing.
"Where does this leave the taxpayers?" I asked.
"In the dark," Gutierrez said.
A year of research
This ABC15 investigation took more than a year of research and reporting. Over that time, hundreds of public records requests were sent to public school districts and charter organizations asking for contracts for the superintendent or top administrator, or other documents showing total compensation — including salary, bonuses, and car allowances.
The results from the school districts were relatively straightforward: 107 provided contracts and/or other records.
RELATED: Arizona Public School Superintendent Salaries Data
Charter school organizations' responses varied significantly. Some charter leaders had contracts; many did not. Some charter organizations provided salary and total compensation, while others gave one or the other. Some large charter groups provided pay information for the person who supervised all their Arizona schools, while others provided information for individual school principals. ABC15 originally asked for pay information from the 2023-24 school year, but schools often provided data from other years instead.
In 86 cases, when ABC15 did not receive data from the schools, we obtained the charter organization's IRS Form 990 — which listed total compensation — for the non-profit organization that operates the school. This includes the Form 990 for Arizona Preparatory Academy.
In the end, pay data was collected for 236 charter administrators. While the comparison is not apples-to-apples, it does reveal trends:
- 93 charter administrators (39.4%) earned $100,000 or less — often overseeing one small school.
- 128 charter administrators (54.2%) earned between $100,000 and $200,000.
- 15 charter administrators (6.4%) earned more than $200,000 a year — mostly large charter organizations like BASIS and Great Hearts
Based on data ABC15 released last fall, we also calculated contracted maximum compensation, including pay and perks, for 107 district school superintendents:
- 55 superintendents (51%) earned more than $200,000 a year.
- 50 superintendents (47%) earned between $100,000 and $200,000.
- 2 superintendents (2%) earned $100,000 or less a year.
District superintendents typically oversee more schools and more students than charter school administrators.
For both district and charter schools, there were outliers whose reported compensation was significantly more than their peers.
Jake Logan, president and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association, said the market drives pay rates for charter school leaders.
"What's the right fit for the administrator for that school and what kind of students they serve, what kind of curriculum they have, how they're organized," Logan said.
Logan noted that Arizona has had charter schools for thirty years. He added state law created charter schools to have flexibility in how they organize and spend money, but that flexibility comes with accountability.
"The tradeoff that charter schools make is we're held to academic standards and other standards in our contracts with the state,” Logan said. “If you don't fulfill the terms of those contracts, there are severe penalties that could include closure."
ABC15 is committed to finding the answers you need and holding those accountable.
Submit your news tip to Investigators@abc15.com
Huzar’s Letter
For several months, ABC15 called, emailed, and visited Arizona Preparatory Academy seeking an interview with Kurt Huzar about his role and compensation.
In early August, Huzar sent a letter in response to our requests for comment.
“Mr. Huzar has been instrumental to the success of Arizona Preparatory Academy and its charter holder, North Star Charter School, Inc. by turning a school that was struggling and a corporation which was on the verge of failure into a highly performing school academically and a very fiscally healthy organization poised for success for years into the future,” the letter said.
In support of his pay, Huzar wrote he serves many other important positions, including “investment manager for the North Star’s investment portfolio, teacher, registrar, controller, human resource manager, grants manager, and as the receptionist.”
“Most years during his tenure, Mr. Huzar averaged working at least fifty hours per week or more,” the letter said.
Huzar also said the Arizona Preparatory Academy is a leader in teacher compensation, with average teacher salaries exceeding $97,000 for the 2026-27 school year.
Huzar also wrote that the academy was rated a “D” school when he took over, but for “most of the years in its recent history, Arizona Preparatory Academy earned an AZ Learns grade of “B” from the Arizona Department of Education and has earned green dashboards from the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools for its Academic, Financial, and Operational performance. “
Push for transparency continues
As she prepares for the next legislative session, Rep. Gutierrez is looking at other options to increase financial transparency and accountability in both charter school salaries and overall spending.
"We should know where that money is going and how it's being spent, and I don't think that's an outrageous ask," Gutierrez said.
You can reach ABC15 Senior Investigator Melissa Blasius by email at melissa.blasius@abc15.com or call 602-803-2506. Follow her on X @MelissaBlasius , Instagram, and Facebook.
