PVSchools detail spending as two budget overrides return to ballot
Screenshot/PVSchools
During the Oct. 8 governing board meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Jill Barragan detailed spending from the district's maintenance and operations override, district additional assistance override and two bond programs.
The Paradise Valley Unified School District examined its bond and override spending in its most recent public meeting as the the district prepares for a vote on two override packages next month.
During the Oct. 8 governing board meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Jill Barragan detailed spending from the district's maintenance and operations override, district additional assistance override and two bond programs.
Maintenance and Operations Override
The district's existing 15% M&O override provided about $30.9 million in spending authority during fiscal year 2025-26. The funding supports academic programs, competitive employee compensation, arts and technology electives and safe learning environments.
Voters will decide whether to renew that authorization, along with a separate $6.41 million annual override used primarily for instructional materials and support vehicles.
Paradise Valley Unified School District spent about $77.3 million on bond-funded projects during the 2025-26 fiscal year, with officials outlining how voter-approved funding supports school construction, instructional materials and daily operations as two district budget overrides return to the ballot this fall.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Jill Barragan presented the district's annual bond and override report during the Oct. 8 governing board meeting, detailing spending from the district's 2019 and 2023 bond authorizations and its M&O and DAA overrides.
The presentation was required under Arizona law and provided an accounting of how the district has used funding previously approved by voters.
The district's 15% maintenance and operations override generated approximately $30.9 million in spending authority during fiscal year 2025-26. The funding supports academic programs, employee compensation, arts and technology electives and safe, healthy learning environments.
The override was last renewed in November 2022 and is on the November 2026 ballot for renewal.
Barragan explained that maintenance and operations overrides provide full funding for five years before gradually declining during the sixth and seventh years if they are not renewed.
"M&O overrides are good for seven years, but not in full for those seven years," she said.
District Additional Assistance Override
The district also receives $6.41 million annually through its DAA override, last approved by voters in 2019.
That funding primarily supports instructional materials, including curriculum adoptions, with $5.96 million allocated annually for those purposes. Another $450,000 is designated for support vehicles.
Over seven years, the override provides approximately $41.7 million for instructional materials and $3.15 million for vehicles.
Unlike the M&O override, DAA funding does not phase down during its seven-year authorization.
Barragan said the district spent about $7.6 million from the additional assistance override during fiscal year 2025-26, using money carried forward from previous years to cover larger curriculum purchases.
"Our curriculum adoptions don't always line up exactly with the dollar amount that's in there," she said.
The district's two bond authorizations also remain active.
Voters approved $236.14 million in bonds in 2019 and another $340 million in 2023.
Barragan said all bonds authorized in 2019 have been sold, with approximately $1.1 million in remaining spending authority expected to be used during the current fiscal year.
The district spent approximately $32.6 million from the 2019 bond program during fiscal year 2025-26.
For the 2023 authorization, approximately $168 million in bonds have yet to be issued.
The district spent about $44.6 million from the 2023 bond program during the last fiscal year, leaving roughly $292 million in authorized project funding not yet spent as of the end of that year.
"That is our largest expenditure moving forward from bond," Barragan said.
Building Renewal Grant
The district also seeks state Building Renewal Grant funding to supplement its bond programs. Barragan said those grants allow PVSchools to complete additional projects that might otherwise have to wait.
"We see every dollar that we receive from School Facilities Division as another dollar that we can place somewhere else in our bond program," she said.
PVSchools maintains 49 sites containing 258 buildings, more than 835 acres and approximately 5.2 million square feet of interior space.
Barragan said a recently launched facilities assessment has examined eight schools, with assessors reporting favorable impressions of the buildings' condition and maintenance.
She credited district facilities employees, school staff and voter-approved funding for helping maintain the properties.
The presentation was informational and did not require a board vote.
Voters will decide whether to renew the district's maintenance and operations and district additional assistance overrides in the November election.
Editor’s note: A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. 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.
Meet Stacy Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.
Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.
Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!
Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.
Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.
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