Security and safety updates for schools are high on the to-do list now that Tucson Unified School District voters approved a $480 million bond package Tuesday.
The approval, by a 59% to 41% margin with about 95% of votes counted so far, broke a 20-year bonds dearth for Tucsonβs largest school district, where voters had rejected the most recent previous proposal in 2017.
Election Night was good for other Pima County school districts, too. All of the public school asks on Tuesdayβs ballot passed, including $50 million in bonds for Sahuarita Unified School District and budget overrides for Sunnyside and Flowing Wells unified school districts and for Altar Valley Elementary District.
βItβs invigorating,β said TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo. βYou do this work, you get up every single day, you serve the public, you serve a traditional public school district, with all of its challenges. Some days you feel like, does the public even believe anymore that the traditional public school is the last best hope for kids?
βJust when you start thinking maybe thereβs just not enough folks out there that share that belief, we get this victory. That to me is what makes this incredibly inspirational and invigorating.β
The TUSD money is earmarked for districtwide capital expenditures.
βSafety and security is probably going to be up first, as we deal with the immediacy of strengthening campus security and safety,β Trujillo said.
βWeβre probably going to see the first wave of projects dealing with state of the art alarm systems, fire alarms, better fencing, modernized locks on doors β all of the safety aspects of the package will probably get done first.β
Governing Board President Ravi Shah said air conditioning is also a priority, as the district lists new air conditioning systems, controls and modernized energy efficiency among its plans.
βThe first is going to be some basic things that arenβt as flashy, but really important, like making sure our HVAC systems are upgraded and making sure our plumbing systems are upgraded,β Shah said.
βI get emails and calls every every August going into the school year, from teachers and parents upset about HVAC systems not working in the heat of the summer,β he said. βWeβre getting some basic things done first.β
Next step: Oversight panel
Trujillo said the ball will truly begin rolling at TUSDβs Nov. 14 governing board meeting.
βWe are going to make good on our commitment to establish a Bond Oversight Committee,β Trujillo said. βThe board will be taking action to direct the administration to seek applicants to serve on the bonds committee.β
The district serves more than 40,000 students at 87 schools, and those schools, ranging in age from 12 to more than 100 years, have an average age of 55.
Under the package, property taxes will increase 69 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. That means it will cost the average homeowner in TUSD, with a home value of $183,000, about $126 a year for 24 years, district officials said.
The bond issue will include:
$263.9 million for repairs and upgrades to existing facilities;
$43 million in improvements to classrooms and learning spaces;
$75.5 million for health, security and safety measures;
$66.4 million on access to updated technology; and
$31.2 million on student transportation and support vehicles.
Ninety-five percent of the total is to be distributed among projects throughout the districtβs neighborhood schools.
Magdalena Verdugo is the campaign chair for Yes for Better Safer Schools, which supported the bond issue.
β(Voters) voiced their concerns that they wanted safer schools, that they wanted an investment for a better future for our students,β she said Tuesday night. βRecognizing that β¦ this investment was really about β¦ repairing and renovating our school buildings.β
In early 2023 the district spent $40,500 for a bond poll consultant, which conducted a survey of TUSD voters in April.
Sixty-three percent of those polled at that time said they supported a bond issue, while 34% were opposed. Three percent of those surveyed were undecided.
βFirst in a generationβ
βI think (this was) good timing and a good opportunity to look at what we can do investment wise, in our schools, for our children,β Verdugo said. βItβs also about time.β
Tuesdayβs bond election win comes off an unsuccessful attempt by TUSD in 2017. That election year the district asked to issue $180 million. The 2017 request failed by a margin of 59% to 41%.
This weekβs victory βrepresents a shift in what this community thinks about the Tucson Unified School District, what it believes about (TUSD) as an institution, and what it values,β said Trujillo.
Tucson Unified School Districtβs last bond win was in 2004.
This election yearβs win is βthe first in a generation,β Shah noted.
βIβm going to be a TUSD parent for over 13 years, I have twins in kindergarten, along with a sixth grader,β Shah said. βI will see the fruits of this decision over the course of my role as a parent.
βThis is a community coming together.β
βA win for public educationβ
Countywide, the election βis a win for public education in the county,β said Pima County Schools Superintendent Dustin Williams. βIt is a testament. It really is a testament to the hard work and dedication thatβs going on in our schools.β
Voting is how the community sends its message to school districts, he added. βTheyβre saying, by investing in education, weβre investing in so much more.β
Sahuarita school district voters passed Proposition 401, a $50 million bond issue, by a preliminary margin of 57% to 43%. Funds obtained by bonds will cover safety updates, facilities renovations, construction of facilities β including a new fine arts performing theater, technology, furniture and equipment.
The estimated average annual bond tax rate per $100 of assessed valuation is $0.8100.
The tax impact on an owner-occupied residence valued by the county assessor at $250,000 is estimated to be $215 per year for 20 years, or $4,300 total cost.
For a Sahuarita home valued by the assessor at $100,000, property taxes will increase by $81 per year, the district estimates.
Sunnyside had two items on Tuesdayβs ballot: Proposition 498 (a 8% maintenance and operation budget override) and Proposition 499, which asked voters for additional assistance through a budget override.
Prop. 498 passed by a preliminary margin of 63% to 37%, while Prop. 499 passed 60% to 40%.
βThe results βsay a lot about Tucson as a community, that education is at the forefront and important to them,β said Sunnyside Superintendent Jose Gastelum.
Gastelum said that while the district doesnβt know the exact order in which projects will be executed, safety and security, as well as facilities and maintenance are high on his own priority list.
βWe have 21 schools, and the average age of our school buildings is approximately 35 years old. We have approximately 2 million square feet in building space that has to be maintained,β he said. βWe have strong fine arts programs, we have strong athletic programs. Our (students and families) deserve to come to facilities that are that are up to par.β
Flowing Wells had a 13% maintenance and operation budget override pass Tuesday night. The district will use the funds from the budget override to maintain current program funding, plus add a K-12 engineering program that will utilize different disciplines. It passed by a margin of 58% in favor of the override and 41% opposed.
Altar Valleyβs Proposition 400 passed by a margin of 61% to 39%. The 10% maintenance and operation budget override will help maintain current programs, like free full day Kindergarten, competitive teacher and staff salaries and free athletic programs.
To an extent, bond and override ballot items have become a lifeline for schools, Gastelum said.
βItβs no news that Arizona (public schools are) funded at the very bottom, when it comes to education,β he said. βThatβs the reason that we have to go to voters and ask them to support these overrides.β
