This November, Maricopa County voters will be asked to approve and override school district bond requests, vote on school board members and elect a county superintendent.
As the election period progresses, the Arizona Republic’s K-12 education team will collect reporting on these education-related elections and update this page. These elections affect the financial resources available to the district and determine who makes decisions for the district.
As in 2022, The Republic sent out a survey to school board candidates about their policy positions. All responses to that survey are available on this page. We asked each candidate about their experience, district goals, educator recruitment and retention, and ideas about preparing students for college and the workforce. We also asked about their positions on behavioral health programs and bonds and overrides.
Board of Education
In Maricopa County, more than 150 candidates will be vying for school board seats in more than 30 school districts. Elections for 81 seats were canceled due to a lack of candidates. As a result, 72 candidates will be appointed and nine seats will be declared vacant, according to the Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office. County school superintendents are responsible for filling vacancies.
School board members have a variety of responsibilities, including setting district policy, approving and monitoring the district budget, hiring the superintendent, approving curriculum materials, and managing school assets, including school closings and openings.
- Candidate questionnaire: Thirty school board candidates responded to Republic’s questionnaire. read their answers
Bonds and budget overrides
nearly 30 school districts This year, the plan is to ask voters to approve bond and budget override requests. The school district had until July 8 to submit a signed resolution to the Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools asking for bond or to void the election.
Bonds and budget overrides are common ways school districts seek additional funding beyond their state allocation. These are paid by property owners within the district through secondary property taxes based on the limited property value of their homes.
A bond is a type of debt assumed by a school district. If approved by voters, it will be sold to investors and interest will be paid. Bond funds are used for capital expenditures such as building renovations and improvements, new construction, safety and security enhancements, and the purchase of school buses and technology.
The override allows school districts to increase their budgets by up to 15% for seven years to pay for operating costs. The types of priorities voters may put on their 2024 ballots include maintenance and operations priorities, which go toward operating expenses such as teacher salaries and student programs, as well as maintenance and operations priorities, which strengthen capital funds and provide many Additional district support is a priority to help cover technology, curriculum, and instruction. Material and other equipment costs.
Maricopa County Schools Superintendent
Republican Shelley Boggs and Democrat Laura Metcalfe are running for Maricopa County superintendent.
The Maricopa County Schools Superintendent oversees the school board, guarantees and vacates elections, maintains homeschool and private school records, and appoints new members to fill vacancies on the school board.
The superintendent also oversees the Maricopa County Regional School District, which serves students at Hope High School, a residential facility for students in county custody awaiting court hearings and those who have left the traditional school setting. is provided.
Steve Watson, a Republican, has served as Maricopa County’s superintendent since 2017, but lost in this year’s Republican primary.
- Who is Shelly Boggs? What you need to know about the Republican candidates for Maricopa County School Superintendent
- Who is Laura Metcalf? What you need to know about the Democratic candidates for Maricopa County school superintendent
- In their words: We asked candidates about things like school board appointments and managing taxes. Here’s what they had to say
- Appointment of Board of Education: A debate among Maricopa County superintendent candidates is how to appoint the school district’s trustees.
- Auditing becomes a campaign issue: A third-party audit found more than a dozen financial practices at the residential school district run by Maricopa County Superintendent Steve Watson, including more than $200,000 in improper funding and millions of dollars worth of illegal land sales. The above flaw was discovered. Watson in turn pointed to East Valley Technical College’s recent audit. The university’s Republican primary challenger, Shelley Boggs, and Democratic candidate, Laura Metcalf, serve on the school board. The Arizona State Comptroller General said the school did not follow requirements or best practices when it spent $85.9 million to improve career and technical education programs at satellite schools, “increasing the risk of errors, fraud, and data loss.” “I did.”
Maricopa Community College Board of Directors
Elections for four of the seven seats on the Maricopa County Community College Board of Trustees have been canceled because no candidates announced their candidacy against the incumbents. The incumbent’s name will not appear on the ballot.
Readers can stay up to date on education-related election news by subscribing to The Republic’s Educating Arizona newsletter at: https://profile.azcentral.com/newsletters/educating-arizona/.
Maddie Parrish and Nick Sullivan, The Republic’s K-12 education reporters, can be reached at: mparrish@arizonarepublic.com and nsullivan@gannett.com. Share education news, submit accountability tips, Continue the discussion on the Arizona Republic Education Facebook page.
