Higley school board votes to place land disposition on November ballot 

By Tom Blodgett
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The Higley Unified School District Governing Board will place a ballot measure before voters this November that would grant the district authority to sell, lease, or exchange a parcel of land it owns in Gilbert. 

The decision, on a 4-1 vote Friday with Board Member Anna Van Hoek dissenting, follows months of board discussions about declining enrollment, capital funding shortfalls and failed bond measures. That has caused the district to make ongoing efforts to seek alternative revenue sources to meet the district’s capital needs. 

The board took the action in a virtual meeting with consideration of the measure as the only agenda item. That was done to meet a county deadline to get it on the ballot. 

The parcel in question, 19.5 acres by Orchid Lane between Blue Jay and Wren drives near Gilbert Gateway Towne Center, is vacant and costs the district minimal maintenance, mainly involving landscaping labor.

According to Chief Financial Officer Tyler Moore, the district is exploring options to potentially lease the land for projects such as multifamily housing to generate recurring revenue.  

However, the board must first obtain voter approval to proceed. Passing a resolution that is written to include the authority to sell, lease or exchange the land gives the board “ultimate authority” to decide to do one or to hold on to the land, Moore said. 

Attorney Jim Giel of the firm Gust Rosenfeld, which represents the district on election matters, clarified that the board is operating under Arizona Revised Statute 15-491, which grants school districts the ability to call an election for the sale, lease, or exchange of district property.  

“All you're asking the voters to do is do their part and approve it in November,” Giel said. “If they do so then next year or in the future, it will come back to the board … for what the administration's ultimate recommendation is.” 

Board member Anna Van Hoek cited concerns about transparency and the broad nature of the ballot language in casting her dissenting vote. Van Hoek wanted to limit the district’s ballot question to one of the three options and to specify how the money would be used. 

 “My concern is because it's open-ended that the community would reject that without knowing exactly what the district is going to do in the future,” she said. 

Giel advised the board that many districts have put similar measures before voters using all three options without pushback.

Board Member Sarah Jarman voted in favor, citing the financial benefits. 

“With the potential passive income and feedback from the community … I am voting yay to give this opportunity to support the district more financially,” she said. 

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).