Maricopa County voters approved most school bonds, overrides

Voters across Maricopa County supported a majority of school district requests for funding in the Nov. 7 election, approving 12 of 18 bond requests and 10 of 14 budget override requests.

Twenty-three Maricopa County school districts sought voter approval for bonds, budget overrides or real estate sales in 2023. On Tuesday, Maricopa County released the final, unofficial ballot tallies for school district bonds, budget overrides and real estate sales.

Mesa Public Schools' request for a $500 million bond — intended to fund safety measures, technology devices and modernization of learning spaces and facilities — failed by less than 2 percentage points, according to the unofficial results.

The Mesa school district has seen declining support for its bond measures since at least 2005, when a bond request passed with about 67% of the vote. This year was the first time since at least 2005 that a bond measure failed in the district. Meanwhile, its request to renew a maintenance and operations budget override to support staff salaries, which has been in place since 1995, passed by less than half a percentage point.

Queen Creek Unified School District voters rejected a bond measure for the third year in a row. They also rejected the renewal of a 15% budget override, which has been in place since 2015 to support salary and benefits for district staff as well as academic programming.

Queen Creek Unified is a rapidly growing district, and the bond was intended to help accommodate that growth, as well as fund safety and security measures, according to the district.

"Being an off year for voting and having only these two measures on the ballot really hurt us with voter turnout," said Tania Walchli, a Queen Creek Unified parent and substitute teacher who has been campaigning for the bond and override measures, in a statement. "Although discouraged, we are not giving up! We will continue to fight for our public school students and for the greater good of our community."

Election results in Arizona are unofficial until officials have tabulated and canvassed the results. State law gives local election officials up to 30 days to canvass votes cast in the Nov. 7, 2023, jurisdictional elections.

Unofficial results: 12 of 18 school district bond requests approved

Of the 18 school districts seeking voter approval for bond measures, 12 were approved, and 6 were rejected, according to unofficial tallies.

The districts that passed bond measures were Phoenix Union High School District, Tolleson Union High School District, Agua Fria Union High School District, Osborn Elementary School District, Tolleson Elementary School District, Kyrene Elementary School District, Madison Elementary School District, Glendale Elementary School District, Avondale Elementary School District, Paradise Valley Unified School District, Litchfield Elementary School District and Pendergast Elementary School District.

The school district that passed its bond measure by the largest margin was Osborn Elementary in Phoenix, where voters approved a $100 million bond request by more than 50 percentage points. The closest outcome was in Litchfield Elementary, where the request for a $100 million bond passed by less than half a percentage point — just 87 votes, according to the unofficial ballot count. Nearly 20,000 ballots were cast by Litchfield Elementary voters.

Voters rejected school district requests for bond funding in Mesa Unified School District, Liberty Elementary School District, Gilbert Unified School District, Queen Creek Unified School District, Deer Valley Unified School District and Fountain Hills Unified School District.

Unofficial results: 7 budget overrides approved, 4 rejected

Of the 11 school districts seeking to renew maintenance and operations budget overrides, 7 were approved, and 4 were rejected, according to unofficial results.

The school districts that passed a renewal of their maintenance and operations budget overrides were Mesa Unified School District, Madison Elementary School District, Glendale Elementary School District, Fowler Elementary School District, Scottsdale Unified School District, Littleton Elementary School District and Pendergast Elementary School District.

Voters rejected school district requests to renew maintenance and operations budget overrides in Gila Bend Unified School District, Gilbert Unified School District, Queen Creek Unified School District and Deer Valley Unified School District.

Voters approve district requests to sell real estate

All three school districts requesting approval to sell district-owned real estate received voter approval by a wide margin — more than 30 percentage points — according to unofficial results. The districts are Glendale Elementary, Alhambra Elementary and Fountain Hills Unified.

Voters approve district requests for additional assistance overrides

All three school districts requesting voter approval for additional assistance overrides received voter approval for those measures. Those districts are Osborn Elementary, Kyrene Elementary and Glendale Elementary.

Highest school district voter turnout in Fountain Hills

Across all Maricopa County elections, which also included city bond requests, voter turnout was just under 25%.

Eleven school districts had higher than 25% voter turnout, according to the unofficial tallies: Agua Fria, Mesa Unified, Liberty Elementary, Litchfield Elementary, Kyrene Elementary, Madison Elementary, Scottsdale Unified, Paradise Valley Unified, Queen Creek Unified, Deer Valley Unified and Fountain Hills Unified.

In Fountain Hills, where the school district's request for a $25 million bond was rejected by a wide margin while its request to sell real estate was approved by a wide margin, turnout was far higher than any other school district in Maricopa County, and any other election, at about 53%.

It was the second year in a row that voters rejected a bond request from Fountain Hills Unified.

“I am disappointed,” said Fountain Hills Mayor Ginny Dickey in a statement thanking “all the people who worked so hard to pass this bond for our students.”

What are bonds and overrides?

Bonds and budget override measures are common ways for school districts to seek additional funding beyond their state-allocated budgets.

Bonds are used for capital expenses like building renovations and improvements, new construction, safety and security enhancements and purchasing school buses and technology. This year, 18 Maricopa County school districts asked voters to approve bond measures totaling more than $2.9 billion.

They're paid for by secondary property taxes based on a home's limited property value. For this year's bond requests, the estimated yearly tax rates ranged from 26 cents per $100 of assessed property value in Fountain Hills Unified School District to $1.11 in the Osborn Elementary School District.

Arizona election results: Results from across the state, including Maricopa County

For some districts — including the West Valley's Agua Fria, Liberty Elementary and Litchfield Elementary school districts and the East Valley's Fountain Hills and Queen Creek unified school districts — the 2023 bond request came after failed attempts in 2022 and 2021.

School districts also sought approval for maintenance and operations budget overrides, which allow a school district to increase its budget by up to 15% for operational funding. Budget overrides last up to seven years, though they begin to phase out in the sixth year.

This year, 11 Maricopa County school districts sought voter approval to renew 15% maintenance and operations budget overrides for things like teacher salaries, full-day kindergarten, student programs and extracurricular activities.

Three school districts sought approval for additional assistance overrides to bolster capital funding for things like safety and security infrastructure and instructional materials.

Districts also must seek voter approval to sell, lease or exchange certain real property. This year, three Maricopa County districts asked voters for approval to sell district-owned sites.

Who supported, opposed school district measures

As the election approached, campaigns formed by parents, educators, school governing board members and community members encouraged residents to approve bond and override measures. Across the Phoenix area, mayors, councilmembers, business owners and parents wrote letters of support for school bond measures to the Maricopa County School superintendent. These letters were published in voter information packets.

"Our state legislature simply does not fund our schools the way it should," said Marisol Garcia, the president of the Arizona Education Association and a middle school teacher in the Isaac School District, in a statement. "As frustrating as that is, the good news is that school districts do have another option — bonds and overrides."

Low turnout ahead: 13% of Phoenix voters have mailed in ballots for 2023 election so far

They help pay for music, sports and arts programs, facilities upgrades and educator salaries, Garcia said.

Save Our Schools Arizona, a public education advocacy group, is also a staunch supporter of the bond and override measures.

"Because Republican leaders in the Arizona Legislature have totally abdicated their constitutional obligation to provide a free, 'general and uniform public school system,' AZ students are currently funded at only 2/3rds of the per-pupil funding that the average U.S. student receives," wrote Tyler Kowch, the organization's communications manager, in a statement.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in Fiscal Year 2021, Arizona spent $9,611 per pupil, compared to the national average of $14,347.

"Bonds, overrides, and continuations have become critical tools for communities to provide their local schools with the resources they need to be successful," Kowch wrote.

But the bond and override measures also faced opposition.

There was unified opposition to bond and override requests among GOP leaders in the East Valley, who cited concerns about inadequate school performance and taxes as reasons to vote against the measures. In Queen Creek, concerns about the impact of Arizona's open enrollment requirements on the district, as well as the effects of school choice more broadly, complicated the campaign to pass bond and override measures. Opponents from Phoenix to Gilbert posted signs with an anti-tax message telling passersby to vote against bond and budget override measures, leading to questions about the signs' legality.

Many letters that opposed bonds across multiple districts — including Gilbert Public Schools, Paradise Valley Unified, Fountain Hills Unified, Queen Creek Unified and Mesa Public Schools — included the same exact wording, with individuals writing that they oppose the bond "due to its unfair financial burden on taxpayers and lack of clear benefits."

"Opposing the school bond in Fountain Hills, Arizona is crucial for upholding responsible budgeting principles in government," Jack Gramm, a Fountain Hills resident, wrote in a letter to the Maricopa County School superintendent. Carol Cherry, a Gilbert resident, suggested the district explore "alternative solutions."

In a letter opposing the Tolleson Union High School District bond request, Avondale resident Robert Neely wrote that it is "unfair for seniors to pay for these bonds," adding that he and his wife are retired, live on a fixed income and do not have any children in school.

Madeleine Parrish covers K-12 education. Reach her at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com.

Arizona Republic reporter Sasha Hupka contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County voters approved most school bonds, overrides