Wade, Morris running ahead of Van Hoek in Higley USD board vote

By Tom Blodgett
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First results in the Higley Unified School District governing board's four-year term seats show a vocal incumbent trailing the board president and a challenger.

President Amanda Wade leads with 9,952 votes, 36.58%, while challenger Michelle Morris is in the current position to claim the second seat at 9,343 and 34.34%. Board Member Anna Van Hoek, who has frequently challenged the district's direction, is third at 7,911 votes, 29.08%.

All results are unofficial until canvassed.

The initial tallies for the two-year seat, an all-write-in election, show Travis White leading with 1,130 votes, or 24.81%, while Kurt Brooks is running second at 367 votes, 8.06%, and Kathleen Richards trailing at 222, 4.87%. Voters wrote in someone else at 558 votes, 12.25%, but any other name written in was considered nonqualified.

Higley Unified School District voters had two separate school board contests on the Nov. 3 ballot, with three candidates seeking two four-year terms and three certified write-in candidates competing for a two-year term.

Wade and Van Hoek sought reelection to four-year terms, facing challenger Morris. Voters could select up to two candidates, with the top two finishers winning seats.

The second election was for the remaining two years of the term of former Board Member Scott Glover, who resigned in July. The candidates were Kurt Brooks, Kathleen Richards and Travis White, all of whom were required to run as write-ins because of the timing of the vacancy.

That election resulted from a legal dispute over whether the vacancy should be filled by appointment or by voters.

Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs initially sought to fill the vacancy through an appointment process. White and three district parents challenged that approach in court, arguing voters should select Glover's replacement.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Julie Mata ruled the vacancy must be filled through an election, resulting in the unusual write-in contest.

The election came after a challenging year for the district, which has grappled with the financial consequences of voters rejecting a maintenance and operations budget override in November 2025.

The district also has faced debates over instructional materials, parental involvement, student achievement and spending priorities.

The five-member governing board establishes district policy, approves budgets, oversees the superintendent and makes decisions affecting schools in the growing southeastern Gilbert area.

The two candidates elected to four-year terms will serve through 2030, while the winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Glover's term through 2028.

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).