Mainstream Media Fails Fact-Check of Arizona Senate President

A lead investigative reporter with the NBC affiliate 12News got their facts wrong in a fact-check of Arizona Senate leadership.

Senate President Warren Petersen issued a statement calling for an end to the “witch hunt” against Primavera, an online K-12 school facing possible shutdown by the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools (ASBCS). Investigative reporter Craig Harris accused Petersen of lying about Primavera’s certification by State Superintendent Tom Horne.

“Thousands of parents choose to send their kids to Primavera. They provide options to students and parents that have allowed many to graduate who otherwise would not,” said Petersen. “Recently [Horne] issued a letter certifying that Primavera is a performing alternative school. Time to end the witch hunt.”

Harris said Primavera had not applied to be an alternative school with the state in the past.

Alternative status applies to schools serving at-risk students, and schools must reapply annually. Primavera maintains that an administrative error was the reason they didn’t apply for alternative school status in recent years, and also the reason students were given failing grades over a three-year period instead of the adjusted grade scale applied to at-risk students. Per Primavera, over 70 percent of their 8,300 students qualify as at-risk; the school records serving over 20,000 every year.

“This statement by [Warren] is false. Records obtained by [us] show [Horne] never issued such a letter. Instead an email from Sean Smith, the Department of Education chief accountability officer, was sent to Primavera and [their owner],” said Harris. “Primavera under owner Damian Creamer (who paid himself at least $24 million in the past six years) never applied for alternative status with the state.”

Petersen corrected the record for Harris, supplying a copy of an email reflecting certification by Horne, but Harris maintained his take on the matter.

“Our analyst reviewed records supplied by Primavera. He spot checked for accuracy and found no evidence of inaccuracy. He then did a calculation of whether they would have qualified as an alternative school and what their grade would be,” stated Horne. “He found that based on the quantitative data they would qualify as an alternative school and that their grade would be C. I hereby certify the work of the analyst.”

“Fair enough,” said Harris. “[But] this looks like a private email in which [Horne] ‘certified’ the work of the Department of Education’s analyst.”

Wrong, certified by Horne. pic.twitter.com/iy6V3V68LH

— Warren Petersen (@votewarren) May 8, 2025

In February, 12News investigators reported Primavera’s CEO, Damian Creamer, received millions despite poor student outcomes dating back to 2017.

In the weeks following that report, ASBCS voted to take the necessary steps to shut down Primavera.

Horne, an ASBCS member, issued a statement in support of the notice to revoke paving the way for charter revocation.

“My first priority for all public schools is academic success. It is important that charters and district schools alike are held accountable for the quality of education they provide,” said Horne. “The Board’s action demonstrates that these are not just words, but actions. Primavera is being held accountable and losing its ability to operate because of poor academic results.”

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