Chandler school board gives final OK to budget

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

Chandler Unified’s Governing Board only approved one action item July 8, but it was an important annual step.

The CUSD board gave final approval to its $393.9 million 2026-27 budget July 8, approving largely the same documents that had been presented for tentative adoption at its June 24 meeting.

Lana Berry, the district’s chief finance officer, presented and took questions about the budget for about an hour, or much of the July 8 meeting. She explained everything from proposed school finance legislative bills that didn’t pass, to ones that did and their impact to ballot referrals that voters will weigh in on in November, along with how many aspects of the budget are funded or what changes for 2026-27.

Berry highlighted the importance of SCR 1032. Arizona Rep. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) put forth the resolution that, if approved by voters, would required districts to spend at least 60% of its maintenance and operations funds on “direct instruction,” as defined by the Arizona Auditor General.

“We already know non-instructional includes many things,” Berry said of current K-12 working definitions. “Utilities, transportation, food service, IT, safety — all of that is regarded as non-instruction.”

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the state’s fiscal 2027 budget into law June 13 — almost three full weeks earlier than other recent years that pushed against the deadline — so Chandler and other districts were able to work mostly with actual formulas and funding sources instead of projections.

There is rarely anyone who asks to speak during the public hearing part of Chandler Unified budget approvals, but there was one teacher July 8 who advocated for more theater arts funding. Ben Bozovich of Arizona College Prep High School asked when some major improvements to ACP’s theater facilities would be in a budget, as those aren’t slated for 2026-27.

Berry responded that discussions and research revealed the ACP improvement would cost “two to three times” initial estimates, so newly hired CUSD career and technical education director Tana Berrelleza and other administrators will work to find solutions for ACP’s outdated space and to find funding for an upgrade.

Berry also took some questions about career and technical education funding that will be addressed in an upcoming story.

The budget was the main element of the first meeting for Superintendent Dr. Anna Battle, who briefly introduced herself.

The board was set to meet only once this month. It’s set to hold two regular meetings on Wednesdays next month, on Aug. 5 and Aug. 19.

Email Jason W. Brooks at jjbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

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.

Community: He supports animal shelters.