Higley district plans budget cuts amid declining enrollment, reduced override

By Tom Blodgett
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Facing a $9.28 million shortfall for fiscal year 2025-26, the Higley Unified School District is proposing significant cuts to its maintenance and operations budget.

The development comes as result of the district grappling with declining enrollment and the phased reduction of its maintenance and operations override, which failed to secure voter renewal in November.

The current M&O budget is  $125.94 million, and the district is projecting $116.65 million next year.

Superintendent Sherry Richards addressed the gravity of the situation to the governing board during its Jan. 14 meeting, highlighting the challenge of balancing fiscal responsibility with the district’s commitment to high-quality education.

“We are in the business of developing people, and that includes our educators, our employees, and our students,” she said. “I've had the privilege of working here for 14 years, and I care so much about the decisions that are being made that impact our employees and our students. A funding decrease of this magnitude has led to some difficult decisions.”

Declining enrollment, override reduction

Enrollment numbers in HUSD have been declining steadily, and district officials are making more aggressive projections of the decline, indicating a loss of more than 300 students next year, Chief Financial Officer Tyler Moore said.

The district’s financial situation is compounded by the first-year reduction of the override, which will phase out one-third of its funding this year, equating to approximately $5.1 million.

In Arizona, maintenance and operations overrides of up to 15% over the M&O budget capacity can be approved by voters and paid for by a secondary property tax. However, the overrides last only seven years and draw down by one-third each of the final two years before expiring unless voters approve a continuation.

Higley lost a continuation vote in November by 314 votes, less than 1%.

The budgetary challenges come amid broader trends of declining birth rates and shifting student populations, factors cited by board Vice President Tiffany Shultz as affecting districts nationwide.

“The drop in enrollment is largely due to birth rates,” Shultz said. “We are not the only district. We are not the only city. It is across the country. In fact, I just learned it is across the world.”

Proposed budget reductions

In response to the shortfall, HUSD is considering a series of reductions and reallocations, totaling 82.4 full-time equivalency in staff positions. The proposal includes:

• Reducing district office staff by one administration, one maintenance, four special education, six educational services, two finance, 1.4 Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 2.5 human resources and student services and 11 transportation services positions;
• Transferring one maintenance, one special education and 1.5 educational services positions to other funding;
• Reducing 18 elementary teacher positions;
• Reducing 10.2 secondary teacher positions;
• Reducing other school positions by 2.8 in special education, eight custodians, one site administrator, eight in classified staff and two in site information technology.

Richards emphasized the district aims to achieve many of these reductions through attrition without layoffs.

“The culture of Higley is one thing that makes our district unique and exceptional, and this is not something we plan to relinquish during these challenging circumstances,” Richards said.

The district is also exploring options to transfer positions to alternative funding sources, such as grants and special programs, to mitigate the impact of these cuts.

Board reactions

The proposed cuts elicited mixed reactions from board members, some of whom expressed concerns about their potential impact on classroom sizes and teacher retention.

Board Member Scott Glover said ultimately the cuts are about people.

“These are human beings,” he said. “These are people we work with, we live with, we sweat with, we grieve with, we celebrated with. It's a difficult thing.”

Board Member Anna Van Hoek suggested using more of the district’s budget balance carryover funds to reduce the number of staff reductions as well as class sizes. The district has $21.5 million in carryover in this year's budget and is proposing to reduce it to $17 million for next year.

“We have a good amount in our carry forward, and if we're going to be using it for a rainy day, this is a rainy day, and we should be utilizing that money," Van Hoek said.

However, Moore cautioned against depleting the carryover too quickly.

“That’s not sustainable on an ongoing basis,” Moore said. “We’d basically be kicking the can down the road for a greater layoff in maybe ’27 or ’28.”

Other board members also balked at hitting the carryover too quickly.

“Having worked in this district previously when we have had to make cuts and when we were operating at a very minimal carryforward, functioning does not equal thriving, and that is a very important distinction,” President Amanda Wade said, noting the need to compete for students.

Said Glover: “Magical thinking and magical math isn’t going to get us out of this.”

Richards stressed the importance of engaging with the community to raise awareness about the district’s financial challenges and the critical role of public support.

“While the district is facing significant financial challenges, with the continued support of the community, staff and policy makers, we can work together to find solutions and ensure that our students’ educational needs remain the top priority,” she said. “The district will continue to communicate, keeping all stakeholders informed of any proposed changes and the rationale behind them.”

The board will review the proposed budget reductions in February and pass a tentative M&O budget in March with final passage in June.

We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.        

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).