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Opinion

Francis: Higley School District’s failed bond, override was self-created crisis

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In the recent November election, Higley Unified School District asked voters to approve two significant financial measures: a $83.1 million bond and a seven-year, 15% budget override, amounting to $14.1 million annually.

Voters rejected both proposals. An overwhelming margin of 56.65% defeated the bond measure, while the override renewal failed to gain the necessary support and failed by 50.38%.

While the failed bond is unfortunate, the defeat of the override is far more consequential. But was this financial crisis inevitable?

Two concerned residents had raised alarms months before the election. Yet, the HUSD Governing Board chose to ignore these warnings, opting to place both measures on the ballot despite clear indications that they would fail.

A school bond functions similarly to any other type of municipal bond: a school district sells bonds to investors to raise large sums of money upfront, incurring a long-term debt. This debt is repaid over time, with interest, through increased property taxes on homes and businesses within the district’s boundaries.

Bond funds are typically used for capital improvements such as construction, renovations, and other physical upgrades.

On the other hand, a budget override allows a school district to raise property taxes above and beyond the standard district budget to fund ongoing operational costs. These funds are typically allocated for school programs, teacher salaries, and classroom materials.

Unfortunately, bond proposals in Higley have a history of failure. This marks the third time in four years that voters have rejected a bond initiative.

Only twice in the past 25 years—once in 2006 and again in 2013— has Higley passed a bond. As of 2023, the district still owes $93.1 million from those past bonds, a debt that will not be paid off until 2038.

Previous bond proposals in 2021 and 2022 also failed, with 54.5% and 58.2% of voters rejecting them, respectively.

In fact, during a special election last year, every single school bond in the East Valley failed, including those in Mesa (50.1%), Gilbert (53%), and Queen Creek (59%), and now Chandler’s (54%) and Higley’s (57%).

Given this track record, the failure of the 2024 bond is no surprise.

However, the district's budget override history has been more mixed. Overrides passed in 2003 and 2008, failed in 2012 and 2013, but passed again in 2015 and 2019.

An override is valid for seven years, with the funds provided in the first five years decreasing by 33% in years six and seven if voters do not renew the override. As a result of the failed renewal this year, Higley will lose approximately $7 million in operating funds starting next year.

This loss is especially devastating considering the district’s already precarious financial situation.

The last time a phase-down of the override occurred (in 2014-2015), it led to significant cuts in staff and services, including reductions in administration, teacher pay, high school bus routes, and elimination of essential programs like accelerated reading, librarian positions, and gifted education. The district was also forced to reduce support staff, such as lunch aides and bus maintenance workers.

The financial strain on Higley is only worsening. Earlier this year, the governing board voted to increase staff pay by over $3.1 million, compounding the district's fiscal challenges.

Additionally, federal emergency funds received during the COVID pandemic have now expired, leaving the district with the financial burden of absorbing several new staff positions — particularly counselors — into the regular budget, creating permanent positions with temporary relief funds.

With costs rising and revenue sharply declining, the district now faces a dire financial future. The inability to make necessary renovations or address infrastructure needs due to the bond’s failure is unfortunate, but the loss of operating funds is catastrophic.

The most alarming aspect of this situation is that it was entirely avoidable. The governing board had multiple opportunities to take corrective action but chose to ignore the warnings of concerned residents and experts, ultimately gambling with the district’s future.

In 2023, the district formed a Citizens Committee composed of 15 community members and HUSD employees to assess the need for a bond and/or override. The committee worked with Applied Economics, a consulting firm, to analyze demographic trends, residential development, and enrollment projections.

The findings were clear: Higley’s enrollment has been in steady decline since 2019, and as of last year, only 47.7% of students living within the district boundaries were attending Higley schools. This marked the lowest attendance rate in the district’s history and represents a steady and dramatic decrease from 2007, when nearly 60% of students attended Higley schools.

Projections suggest that, within the next decade, fewer than 40% of students living within the district will be attending Higley schools.

Though the district has seen a modest increase in students from outside the district boundaries, it is unlikely to make up for the ongoing decline in local enrollment. This is particularly problematic because school funding is largely tied to student attendance.

The Citizens Committee was aware of these enrollment trends, and both the committee and the governing board received data indicating that placing the bond and override on the same ballot together would likely result in failure.

In fact, survey results presented by HighGround, Inc., a consulting firm hired by the district, indicated that if the bond and override were proposed separately, there was a higher likelihood of success for each individual measure.

However, despite these warnings and the overwhelming evidence that the bond would not pass, the governing board nevertheless chose to place both measures on the ballot, with a 4-1 vote to approve the Citizens Committee’s 7-3 proposal.

During public comment at the governing board meeting, two members of the Citizens Committee, members  Marty Bender and I explicitly warned the board about the risks of placing both proposals on the ballot.

Bender cautioned that the result could be a “worst-case scenario” where both the bond and override failed, leading to severe financial consequences for the district.

I pointed out the history of bond failures and expressed concerns that combining the bond with the override would put essential school funding at risk. Despite these dire warnings, the board proceeded with its decision.

As anticipated, both the bond and the override were rejected by voters. Now, with reduced funding from the override, an ongoing decline in enrollment, and the added burden of increased staff salaries, the district faces significant financial challenges in the coming years.

The effects of these failures will be felt most acutely by students, who will bear the brunt of the cuts to educational programs and services.

The consequences of the Higley School District's mismanagement are severe, but the ultimate tragedy is that they were entirely preventable. The governing board had ample opportunity to avoid this crisis, yet chose to ignore the warnings and forge ahead with a risky financial gamble that has now left the district in a precarious situation.

Now, Higley’s students face a difficult and uncertain future.

D. Taylor Francis was a member of the Citzens Committee that studied Higley USD finances. He also was an unsuccessful candidate for the governing board.

D. Taylor Francis, Higley Unified School District, Higley USD bond, Higley USD override continuance

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