Arizona Voters Head to the Polls: A Guide to What’s on the Ballot
today, November 4th, Arizona voters are casting their ballots on a range of measures impacting communities across the state, from school funding to infrastructure improvements. Here’s a breakdown of key items on the ballot:
Local Infrastructure and Public Safety Funding
Several cities and districts are seeking voter approval for funding dedicated to vital public services. Peoria is requesting $123 million for advancement projects, while Glendale is asking voters to approve $65 million for flood control and support for city facilities.
Fire and medical districts throughout the valley are also seeking funding to support new fire stations, equipment purchases, and facility maintenance.
School District bonds and overrides
A meaningful portion of the ballot focuses on education funding. Many Arizona schools rely on voter-approved bonds and override measures to maintain programs, staffing, and facilities. A total of 21 school districts have measures before voters today.
Bond Measures: Bonds request a specific dollar amount for capital expenditures,including new schools,facility upgrades,technology infrastructure,safety improvements,school buses,and equipment. Ten Maricopa County school districts are seeking bond approvals totaling over $1.5 billion. Estimated yearly tax rates for these bonds range from 12 cents per $100 of assessed property value in West-MEC to $1.17 in saddle Mountain Unified School District.
The districts requesting bond approvals are: Buckeye Union, Chandler Unified, Deer Valley Unified, Isaac Elementary, Nadaburg Unified, Pendergast Elementary, Saddle Mountain Unified, Tempe Elementary, Tolleson Union, and West-MEC.
Override measures: Overrides seek to increase a district’s budget by a certain percentage for a period of seven years. Often, districts request renewal of existing overrides to maintain current funding levels. These funds are used for operational expenses like classroom sizes, teacher salaries, music and art programs, and full-day kindergarten.
Fourteen Maricopa County school districts are seeking voter approval for maintenance and operations budget overrides and renewals.The estimated yearly cost to the average homeowner ranges from $11 in Arlington Elementary School District to $383 in Higley Unified School District.
the districts seeking maintenance and operations budget override approvals are: arlington Elementary, Buckeye elementary, Chandler Unified, Deer Valley Unified, Dysart Unified, Higley Unified, Isaac Elementary, Kyrene Elementary, Peoria Unified, Phoenix Elementary, Phoenix Union, Roosevelt Elementary, Saddle mountain Unified, and Tolleson Union.
This report includes information contributed by Arizona Republic reporters Sasha Hupka and Lauren De Young.
