Queen Creek Unified School District’s $98 million bond proposal and the continuance of a 15% maintenance and operations budget override continue to fail, as more votes are counted.
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Queen Creek Unified School District’s $98 million bond proposal and the continuance of a 15% maintenance and operations budget override continue to fail, as more votes are counted.
In the bond election, updated numbers find that 59.38%, or 8,403 residents, cast their votes against the school bond. By comparison, there are 5,748 “yes” votes at 40.62%.
Voters are also saying “no” to the budget continuation override. The district’s budget override continuation has 7,785 “no” votes at 55.61%, while the “yes” vote is 6,215 at 44.39%.
QCUSD’s superintendent sent a letter to parents and educators yesterday acknowledging that the bond issue and the budget override continuance have been likely turned down by voters.
“As you may have heard, it appears that funding for QCUSD through the bond and override were not approved, though these results are still pending official confirmation from the Maricopa County Recorder's Office,” stated QCUSD Superintendent Perry Berry.
If the bond officially fails, it will be the third year in a row that QCUSD has not succeeded in getting a bond passed by voters.
Last year, Queen Creek residents voted down a $198 million school bond measure over five years. And in 2021, voters rejected a $286 million QCUSD bond proposal over 10 years.
This year’s $98 million bond is meant to fund enhanced safety and security features, renovations to existing schools, construction of new classroom space and other improvements.
The current 15% maintenance and operations budget override money is used for teacher salaries, smaller class sizes and ongoing operational and maintenance expenses.
In June, the district’s governing board voted five to one to authorize putting the bond before the voters. The only dissenting vote came from board member James Knox, whose children are homeschooled.
The Maricopa County Elections Office is expected to keep providing updated numbers daily throughout the next few days.
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