Tucson’s largest school district may have a new dynamic come January with early election results showing one of the three incumbents being unseated Tuesday evening.
Incumbents Kristel Foster and Mark Stegeman along with newcomer Rachael Sedgwick appeared to have edged out incumbent Cam Juarez, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Lori Riegel and Brett Rustand for three seats open on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board.
The results, posted at 8 p.m., are based on early ballots cast before election day. Ballots cast at the polls along with provisional ballots and early ballots received Tuesday were still in the process of being counted.
Foster and Juarez began serving on the TUSD Governing Board in 2013, while Stegeman has been in office since 2009.
In Amphitheater, the three vacant positions appear to have been won by incumbent Deanna Day, Scott Baker and Vicki Cox Golder. Incumbent Julie Cozad and Mick Stewart were trailing behind.
In Sahuarita, incumbent Kris Ham, Dalia Zimmerman and Shari S. Lowell were leading the race for three board openings. Incumbent J.Elaine Hall received the lowest percentage of the vote.
The three seats up for grabs in Tanque Verde appear to have been won by incumbent Jeffrey M. Neff, Carlos Ruiz and Jeremy Schalk. Vieri M. Tenuta came in last with voters.
In Vail, incumbent Allison Pratt appeared to retain her seat. She is leading the race for three positions along with Callie Tippett and Mark Tate. Anthony Sizer received the lowest level of support from Vail voters.
School district bonds and overrides
Amphitheater School District appears to have been successful in its bid for $58 million in school improvement bonds, early results show. The district plans to use the money for facilities renovations, including roofing, heating and cooling, facilities maintenance, and replacing aged electrical infrastructure and lighting.
Early results for Marana School District’s request for a continuation of its 10 percent maintenance and operations budget override were too close to call. The override funds programs and positions like school aides, counseling, full-day kindergarten, library, athletics, physical education and fine arts. If it fails, class sizes could grow and some programming could have be at risk.
In Sahuarita, early results showed a bid for $25 million in school improvement bonds was successful. That was not the case for a request for the lesser of $1 million or a 10 percent district additional assistance override. The funds are to be designated for major facility repairs, books and technology, transportation and a new school. Without the funds, class sizes could grow.
Voters in the Vail School District said yes to continuing a M&O budget override, according to early results. The previous override was for 10 percent, this one is for 12.5 percent.
The existing override funds about 100 teachers and helps control class sizes. The additional 2.5 percent will go towards finding quality teachers and pay raises for teacher and other non-administrative staff.
Pima College Governing Board
Of the three candidates vying for the sole District 5 seat on the Pima Community College Governing Board, Luis A. Gonzales was in the lead, followed by Martha Durkin and Francis Saitta.
Pima County School Superintendent
Early results show Democrat Dustin Williams in the lead over Republican Margaret Burkholder for Pima County School Superintendent. If he holds the lead, Williams will replace County Schools Chief Linda Arzoumanian who has held the seat for nearly two decades.
The job of the Pima County Schools Superintendent, which comes with an annual salary of $76,600, is to conduct bond and override elections, filling vacancies on school boards, overseeing budgets to ensure reporting is accurate, handling registration of teaching certificates and facilitating training opportunities for educators, among other responsibilities.
