Chandler schools navigates finance in 2nd Trump era
Independent Newsmedia file/Jason W. Brooks
Chandler Unified elementary students perform an appreciation cheer Jan. 30 for the construction team that completed their school’s newly unveiled media center. These types of remodels have become common for the Chandler Unified School District in the past few years, though it’s unclear what the district will be able to afford as politics impacts school finances in several ways.
When Donald Trump won the presidency in November 2024, the approach of public schools began to change almost overnight, especially in aspects of education heavily tied to federal funding.
Along with Trump’s election to a second term, the U.S. Senate falling into Republican hands and the Arizona legislature remaining under GOP control, Trump’s rhetoric fueled the flames of critics of public education, with Chandler Unified and many other Valley districts suffering bond election defeats in November.
For Chandler, it was the district’s first bond to be defeated in at least 24 years.
Chandler Unified’s chief financial officer Lana Berry, presented options to the board at a May 7 study session put together by a bond and override committee. Three of the four options for the bond would ultimately cost district property owners progressively less than last year’s $487 million failed proposal.
The district’s decisions to make about the bond and about its maintenance and operations override should be made this month. Fortunately, those decisions won’t need to be made under the duress of Trump shutting off funding for several main programs instantly, as public schools seem to have staved off most major feared or announced K-12 cuts for now.
Federal programs
Berry said in any year, school district finances are complex and require heavy monitoring and adjusting in order to both maintain solvency and follow all local and federal regulations. This year, it appears, Chandler Unified $21 million in federal programs appears intact — at least for 2025-26.
“A lot of federal programs are forward-funded, and we apply for them in the spring,” Berry said. “Percentage-wise, it’s not a huge fraction of our dollars, but all that Title 1,2, 4 and 6 funding, there’s not really another source for it. And special ed relies heavily on federal dollars.”
Bond and override
The CUSD board heard a presentation at a May 30 planning meeting about its bond and override election options.
The board voted 4-1 about a year ago to send a $487 million bond to voters, but in the November 2024 elections, voters rejected it by more than 9,000 votes, or about a 54% to 46% margin.
A bond review committee put together four options and recommended one of four options, with the $487 million “2B” option being the second-least-expensive of the four, in terms of how much property owners would need to extend taxes to pay for it.
A survey taken in January of this year showed voters want voters to live within its means, that the cost of living in the East Valley is affected by increases in property taxes and that voters want more fiscal accountability.
The report states voter data tells the board “based on performance, the district skews almost 10 points to a Republican advantage. Similar to many districts, the majority of voters are 45 or older and lean female. The average age has grown significantly since you last went out for a bond.”
Yet even with the exit poll data and demographics that show CUSD is going to lose at least some enrollment over the next five and 10 years, there is no discussion about closing or selling buildings or downsizing the district’s physical footprint to match its situation.
Instead, a committee met several times again this spring, bringing four more proposals to the board for a potential November 2025 bond election.
The committee’s recommended option would be a $271.5 million bond. That’s even less than the $290 million bond voters approved in 2019.
The committee found both small and large ways to get away from the $487 million ask of voters, though that option is technically still open. For example, an item labeled “outdoor/indoor courts/tracks” has $4 million earmarked in the $487 million bond option, but zero funding in the three other bond options.
In another example, Haley and Patterson elementaries are on a list of schools due for flooring projects, but the more than $600,000 expense for each of those two schools isn’t included in the $271.5 million option or either of the two less-expensive bond proposals.
The CUSD Governing Board is set to decide at its June 11 meeting whether to send the bond and override spending to voters this November. Neither seem automatic in terms of getting at least three board members’ approval to go on the ballot this year; the only unlikely choice seems to be the bond wouldn’t ask voters to approve the exact same $487 million bond two years in a row.
Voters approved a $42 million, 15% maintenance and operations override in November 2021. But that approval was granted by voters in a different political environment — one that existed before the election of parents’ rights advocates Kurt Rohrs, in 2022, and Ryan Heap, in 2024, to the board.
The override election technically could wait until 2026. But that is cutting it close, Berry explained, as budget spending authority drops considerably in the final two fiscal years of the seven-year approval if it doesn’t pass.
The board seems likely to send at least some version of a bond package or an override to voters in 2025, as it’s an off year with no other district, state or national elections this November. Low turnout sometimes makes passing a single item easier.
Berry explained the basic difference between bonds and overrides is a borrowed amount for physical items like buildings and computers, versus an override to a spending limit for everyday operations.
CUSD burned through its $290 million in 2019 bond funds faster than expected, Berry said, due largely to inflation and much of its infrastructure reaching end-of-life. City of Chandler staff said similar things about its $273 million bond voters approved in 2021.
“Voter fatigue” — the idea that voters tire of campaign cycles and/or being asked frequently to approve tax hikes or extensions — is a regular topic among some Valley school boards. But the concept has rarely been mentioned by the CUSD board.
Berry has said there was only about $14 million remaining from the 2019 bond, which is being saved for what leaders feel are the most essential project expenses.
Stretching out 2019 bond funds
Berry said a great deal of the $14 million remaining for the 2019 bond funds will be used for “essential” projects, such as HVAC or roofing.
Even though some voters might have strict definitions of “essential” that don’t include sports facilities, administrators convinced the board to replace Basha High School’s outdoor track.
The track, which was installed around the time the school opened in 2002, will cost about $700,000 to replace.
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.
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