A Higley USD Governing Board member took the unusual step of leaving her seat on the dais to address the board as a member of the public, voicing criticism over what she called improper electioneering.
Speaking during the public comment period last week, Board Member Anna Van Hoek was critical of students being asked to distribute materials related to the district’s 15% maintenance and operations budget override measure during the district’s curriculum night. She argued that the practice not only violated state law but also placed students in an inappropriate position.
“As a taxpayer in this district, I am extremely disappointed to see that our district has once again used students to electioneer on school grounds,” Van Hoek said. “During curriculum night, students were instructed to hand parents override flyers and tell them that the override must pass.”
She said the students “had no idea what they were saying, only that they were to hand every parent a pamphlet and deliver the message that this must pass.”
Van Hoek's decision to address the board from the floor rather than the dais underscored the intensity of her concern, marking a rare moment of a sitting board member taking on the role of a public critic in a meeting.
Van Hoek cited Arizona Revised Statutes, which prohibits school districts from using public resources to influence elections, and an attorney general opinion she said requires public materials to remain free from “any misleading tendencies.”
“The flyers that were distributed through the students at curriculum night do exactly that,” she said. “They are selective in the facts, they omit important context and use persuasive framing that is not neutral. That is advocacy, and that is exactly what 15-511 prohibits.”
A copy of the palm card reviewed by the Gilbert Independent showed they had the following information:
Basic demographic information on the district’s size;
Cuts made after the 2024 M&O override failed, plus cuts that will be made if the 2025 override fails and what it will support if it passes;
Estimated tax impact if it passes;
A comparison of state funding for charter schools and ESA vouchers against the district if the override passes or if it fails;
Important dates for the election cycle and the website to register to vote.
The Higley Unified School District maintenance and operations override palm card page 1
The Higley Unified School District maintenance and operations override palm card page 2
Van Hoek did not respond to attempts to contact her directly with questions about her objections.
Higley's legal team signed off on the cards as complying with state law, district officials said.
Beyond legal concerns, Van Hoek argued that the involvement of students was troubling in its own right.
“The use of students as political couriers, even voluntary, is deeply inappropriate,” she said. “Our students should not be used as tools to push a political message on behalf of the district. It raises serious concerns about coercion, the misuse of public resources and the erosion of trust with parents and the community.”
The district responded in a written statement, explaining that the flyers in question were distributed by students who were on campus to direct parents to classrooms but who had been asked by office staff to hand out palm cards to parents.
“The students were not instructed to tell parents to vote yes, only pass the cards out,” the district stated. “This is not allowed.”
The district also said it has since taken steps to reinforce compliance.
“In response, the district reminded all employees of our policy concerning elections and clarified expectations as to what employees are not allowed to do and what they have the right to do when they are off property as private citizens.”
Van Hoek closed her remarks by calling for accountability.
“I, along with many parents, want clear answers as to why this happened again,” she said, urging a “firm commitment to comply with the law and immediate action to ensure that this type of electioneering using students never happens again.”
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.
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).
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