Higley Unified appeared likely to see another $5 million funding cut next school year after voters once again rejected the district’s budget override in the 2025 all-mail election, ac cording to early unofficial returns Tuesday.
Higley’s override measure – its second consecutive effort to renew the override for another seven years – appeared to be failign with 56% of voters saying “no.”
Meanwhile, Chandler Unified School District’s override request appeared to be garnering a different result as it was passing by a nearly 10-point margin.
However, CUSD’s request for a $271.5 million bond appeared to be on shaky ground, with “yes” votes leading by a mere 259 votes Tuesday night.
Voters did, however, approve Higley Unified’s request for authorization to sell, lease, or exchange an 18.8-acre parcel it owns on the southeast corner of Ray Road and Wren Drive. Voters passed the land measure 66 to 33.
But its apparent failure to win approval of the 15% maintenance and operations budget override could spell trouble for pay and staffing increases and student programs such as Dual Language Immersion or elementary music, library, and art.
If the override fails, he district will have to make another $5 million in cuts for the 2026-2027 school year.
The district may face larger class sizes and expanded walking boundaries, along with reductions or eliminations in Dual Language Immersion and elementary band, orchestra, music, art, and library programs, according to HUSD.
Elective and extracurricular opportunities may also shrink, and teachers and staff may face pay freezes, officials warn.
After Higley’s last override request was narrowly defeated in the 2024 election, the district was forced to make $5.1 million in cuts to the 2025-2026 school year budget. The cuts eliminated more than 80 positions, including administration positions, elementary library aides, custodial staff, and district instructional coaches.
Budget overrides allow school districts to exceed their state-imposed budget limits for up to seven years by increasing property taxes within district boundaries. They are phased out over three fiscal years unless approved for renewal in an election.
If Higley’s land sale measure wins, proceeds from the approved sale, lease, or exchange of land will be used to construct, improve, equip and furnish school buildings, including technology, and/or any other permitted capital expenditure.
Proceeds can only be used for capital projects, such as new roofs or HVAC systems for school buildings, and not day-to-day operating expenses, under state law.
In Chandler Unified, the district opted to once again seek a bond though it was far smaller than the request for $487 million that failed last November by 8 points.
CUSD says in only has a few million left from its last bond sale, which voters approved in 2019. That money has been earmarked for specific projects, but the district is not going to spend it until it knows new bond money is on the way.
District officials are holding it in reserve in case there are any emergency issues that come up at their 49 campuses that must be addressed. CUSD is the second largest school district in Arizona with 41,000 students and 5,000 employees.
District officials said they need the money to maintain more than 5 million square feet of property, buy school buses, and keep their technology up to date.
The request for $487 million last year was rejected by an 8-point margin.
Meanwhile, in the only other election on the ballot, Valleywise Health’s proposal for an $898 million bond was winning by only less than a point.