Log in

Arizona Election 2024

A first look at Agua Fria bond results

Posted 11/6/24

The preliminary results for Agua Fria High School District’s bond have been posted with 50.14% of voters polling against it at 3:39 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

The $138 million bond was …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
Arizona Election 2024

A first look at Agua Fria bond results

Posted

The preliminary results for Agua Fria High School District’s bond have been posted with 50.24% of voters polling against it at 9:47 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 11.

The $138 million bond was intended go toward funding workforce development, critical repairs and improvements at the five campuses that have buildings more than 60-years-old hosting students, staff and faculty daily.

In Arizona, school bonds provide funding to educational institutions bonds are a form of debt that allows districts to raise money for significant projects and enhancements.

When a school district needs funds for construction, renovation or significant repairs, it can propose a bond issue to the school district’s voters. This proposal outlines the intended use of the funds that might include building new classrooms, upgrading technology, or improving safety features.

If voters approve bond measures, the district distributes bonds to investors who borrow money that will be repaid over time with added interest.

The approval process for school bonds begins with a proposal by the district’s governing board. This proposal is then presented to the community, often accompanied by informational meetings and materials that detail the necessity and benefits of the bond.

The final decision is made through a public vote, held during an election.

Once approved, the district sells the bonds to investors, who are essentially lending money to the district. In return, the district agrees to make regular interest payments and repay the principal amount over a long period of time. These payments are funded through property taxes levied on residents.

The AFHSD governing board approved putting the bond on the ballot months in advance on their Wednesday, June 5, deadline to allow for documents to be processed to have it printed on the ballot and to plan where the funds will go if the voters approve it.

AFHSD had a bond that passed last year that is being used to fund the building of its new Goodyear High School and had a bond on the ballot the year before for the same reason that failed.  

AFHSD Board Member Trey Terry said the 2023 bond was stripped to the lowest number it could be to fund the project, but the coming 2024 bond will make that project and maintaining other campuses an option.

The proposed AFHSD bond is structured not to exceed 75 cents per $100 of assessed home value. The estimated average tax for the total proposed bond is $14.84 monthly per average household, which will not increase the tax rate.

“We have critical needs, critical capital needs,” Terry said, “and we can do this without raising taxes.”

The first uses of the district bond money, coming from the bond up for vote in November, was planned to go toward replacement or repairs to aging systems like air conditioning, roofs and parking lots, adding technology infrastructure enhancements and providing more student transportation. Things like updating Millennium High School’s oldest buildings and building another pool in-district were detailed by Tom Huffman, deputy superintendent of operations for AFHSD.

 The funds were also intended for support training, school security measures and workplace development.

Without voter approval the district improvements will move forward more slowly with shifted priorities.

As the results continue to come in, the race remains uncalled, with fluctuations in vote counts that will be finalized in the coming days. The official results will be confirmed once all votes are tallied and verified.

Visit elections.maricopa.gov for the latest updates.

Arizona Election 2024, Agua Fria Union High School District, Bond