The Higley Unified School District detailed how it spent about $14 million from its maintenance and operations override during the 2024–25 fiscal year, emphasizing the district’s focus on teacher pay and classroom support.
Finance Director Sharon Rushcamp said the annual report, required by state law, shows how funds from the voter-approved 15% budget override were used.
The district’s 2019 override election outlined spending priorities that included teacher compensation, elementary specials, athletics, class size maintenance, gifted and special education programs, all-day kindergarten and classroom resources.
According to the report, 34% of the override funds went to teacher compensation.
“That was a very concerted effort over the last five years within HUSD to increase teacher compensation because we know it’s very important to attract and retain quality teachers,” Superintendent David Loutzenheiser said.
Loutzenheiser noted that when the override began, Higley teachers earned about $800 less than the state average, but are now roughly $2,000 above that mark, according to the state Auditor General’s most recent report.
The district reported that another 22% of override funds went toward maintaining and improving elementary specials; 21% toward maintaining average class sizes; 13% toward supporting gifted, special education and all-day kindergarten; and 10% for classroom educational resources.
The override, which was renewed by voters in 2019, failed renewal in 2024. As a result, the district is now in the first year of a phase-down period.
For the current fiscal year, Higley expects to receive about $9.2 million in override funds — a 33% reduction from last year’s fully funded amount.
If the override fails again in November, the district projects another steep decline next year, with roughly $5 million in funds, before losing the revenue entirely in fiscal year 2028.
During board discussion, member Anna Van Hoek asked for a breakdown of how much of the district’s 4% pay increase last year came from override funds versus classroom site funds. Rushcamp said the prior year’s raises had been a mix of both sources, but the current year’s were drawn only from classroom site funds.
The board took no action following the presentation, which was an informational report required under state statute.
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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).
Higley Unified School District,
Higley Unified School District maintenance and operations override,
Sharon Rushkamp,
David Loutzenheiser,
Anna Van Hoek
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