Maricopa County School Budget Votes: Final Results

PHOENIX, AZ — Maricopa County voters weighed in via mail-in ballots and in-person votes in small percentages for Tuesday’s elections covering school bonds and budget overrides. According to the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, an average of about 7 percent to 25 percent of registered voters took part in deciding whether taxpayers would pony up to fund Phoenix school districts’ needs over the next few years. Here’s what voters decided:

Deer Valley Unified School District — The district’s $30 million operations and maintenance override barely earned a Yes, with 51 percent of voters in favor. A $175 million bond was also approved by 59 percent of voters. The bond will cover school building renovations, school bus replacements, technology improvements and increased campus security. The override will help keep classes the same size as now and go toward extracurricular activities, full-day kindergarten continuance and support for school staff including counselors.

Fowler Elementary School District — With a small turnout of 718 voters (compared to Deer Valley USD’s more than 30,000 voter turnout), 61 percent of Fowler ESD voters approved the district’s requested $3.4 million operations and maintenance override renewal. The override will pay for existing art, music and physical education programs. It will also help keep class sizes at current numbers.

Madison Elementary School District — Sixty-three percent of voters approved the district’s $90 million bond, which will fund building maintenance, school renovations, security improvements, technology and transportation. Meanwhile, 59 percent of voters approved the renewal of a $5 million override for operations and maintenance, covering teacher recruitment and retention, curriculum, and staff and student support.

Murphy Elementary School District — Fifty-seven percent of the 250-voter turnout for the Murphy ESD’s ballot approved a $500,000 additional assistance override covering curriculum materials, student transportation equipment, increased campus security, and technology. Sixty-four percent of voters also approved the district’s sale of Garcia Elementary School, which has several problems such as high air contaminant levels and leaky roofs.

Paradise Valley Unified School District — The district’s request for a $6.4 million assistance override and a $236 million bond were passed by 55 and 62 percent of voters respectively. The override will go toward building maintenance and class materials, while the bond will cover new school buses, security and fire system updates, new school land purchases and building renovations.

Pendergast Elementary School District — A $7.6 million operations and maintenance override was passed by voters – by a slim 30-vote margin. The override will provide free full-day kindergarten continuance, class size maintenance and continued enrichment programs such as art, music and physical education.

Phoenix Elementary School District — Seventy-three percent of Tuesday’s voters said Yes to the district’s renewal of a $3 million assistance override to cover school bus replacement and repair, technology maintenance, furnishing replacements, school campus upgrades and instructional materials.

Scottsdale Unified School District — A $21.4 million operations and maintenance override was approved by 61 percent of voters, allowing the district to maintain athletic and world languages programs, all-day kindergarten classes, art and music and current class sizes.

Tempe Elementary School District — The district's requested $35 million additional assistance bond override and a $9.6 million override for operations and maintenance were both approved by about 66 percent of voters. The assistance override bond will fund musical instrument replacement; school technology; school equipment and furniture; and district cloud security, website and firewall software. The operations and maintenance override funding will help cover after-school intervention programs and salaries for 36 additional K-5 teachers, 35 music teachers, 30 physical education teachers, 22 gifted education teachers, 15 counselors and 7 full-day kindergarten teachers.

Tolleson Union High School District — A requested $125 million bond was approved by 59 percent of voters, which will help fund school building maintenance, increased campus security, new school construction and furniture, equipment and technology, school ground improvement and school bus replacement. Sixty-nine percent of voters also voted Yes to the district’s request to sell a parcel of land at the southeast corner of West Broadway Road and South Dysart Road.

For a full list of Maricopa County 2019 election results, see the Maricopa County Recorder’s website.