Chandler school bond headed for defeat, if margin holds
Proposal losing by a 54-46 margin as of Monday
Independent Newsmedia/Jason W. Brooks
The Chandler Unified School District footed the bill for five of its six high schools, including Basha High School, to replace grass football fields with artificial turf using a $290 million bond voters approved in 2019. But it looks as though CUSD’s $487 million bond —which includes funding to replace the aging Basha running track in this photo — will be defeated in this month's election.
While the vote total in the Chandler Unified School District bond election reported Sunday evening, Nov. 10, by Maricopa County Elections could still grow slightly, results don’t look good for those who want it to pass.
The “no” option on CUSD’s proposed $487 million bond has continued to have about 9,000 more votes than the “yes” option.
Sunday evening, Nov. 10, there were 65,867 “no” votes and 56,716 “yes” votes.
The margin has steadily increased throughout the week’s reporting since Election Day, Nov. 5.
There have been 140,962 votes cast, for a turnout, so far, of 80.72%. That even exceeds the 79.9% statewide Arizona turnout for the 2020 presidential election.
There are about 180,000 active voters who live within CUSD election and taxation boundaries, though it’s tough to tell how many more district ballots are yet to be counted by the county.
As of Sunday evening, Maricopa County Elections estimated there were still 97,000 uncounted ballots, 52,000 unprocessed early ballots and 10,000 provisional ballots.
While two of the CUSD Governing Board candidates among the top three in early vote reporting are declared to be in favor of passing the bond, anti-taxation sentiment has been present in district voter discussions this year.
The board voted 4-1 to place the bond on the ballot. Board member Kurt Rohrs voted against placing it on the ballot, saying it will keep the tax burden high for district property owners.
The $290 million bond put onto a 2019 ballot passed by a 63-37% margin, though only about 46,000 voters participated in that special election.
Check yourvalley.net all this week as more results are reported on this and other Nov. 5 elections.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here