By Janet Perez
Mail | X: @AzNewsmedia

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.

Janet Perez
News Editor | Queen Creek & San Tan Valley

jperez@iniusa.org

Meet Janet
Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State  University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.

Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.

Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science. 

Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.  

Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.