For its 70th birthday, Sunnyside High School needs more than a makeover.
The flagship school on Tucson’s south side has 2,200 students and requires a facelift and more, the school district says.
As part of a $120 million bond, the Sunnyside Unified School District aims to repair and upgrade most of its 21 sites across the second-largest district in Southern Arizona with more than 14,000 students.
“It’s not just remodels, it’s upgrades to bring our buildings up to par,” said Sunnyside superintendent Jose Gastelum. “We want students to come to places that are safe. We want our students to have the best possible experience.”
That positive student engagement could be felt from pre-K to grade 12 if the Sunnyside Governing Board votes June 24 to put the bond on the Nov. 4 ballot and voters pass it. An assessment this school year revealed 15 of Sunnyside’s 21 sites are between poor and fair condition, Gastelum said.
“We have aging buildings. The average age is about 40 years old. That’s the need for the bond,” Gastelum said. “It’s really the health and safety repairs and upgrades that need to occur. We have HVAC, plumbing issues, infrastructure.
“The real eye opening piece here is the mechanical issues: You cannot have a school without AC here in July and August,” he said. “If your plumbing goes down, then you don’t have running water and you can’t be in school.”
District voters passed a bond in 2011 and an override in 2023, and Gastelum says it’s never a good time to ask people for money.
“If we want great communities, then we have to invest in them,” he said. “This community comes together in difficult times. If anything, it does fall on our community to invest in our students.”
The Sunnyside ballot question is one of three Pima County school district asks likely on the November ballot. The Flowing Wells School District Governing Board voted Tuesday to put a $30 million bond before voters and the Tucson Unified School District will ask voters to approve a $45 million budget override. An override increases property taxes for seven years. Bond money comes from the sale of bonds and is repaid over time.
According to Flowing Wells Superintendent Kevin Stoltzfus, the proposed capital improvements include: school safety (such as fencing, remote entry systems, shatter-resistant glass treatments); new construction, mostly to replace prefabricated buildings that have reached their end of life; renovate existing buildings; and provide student transportation vehicles, he said.
The bond would also help build a two-classroom early childhood center for pre-K students on the campus of Richardson Elementary School, at 6901 N. Camino De La Tierra.
Three questions with University High School
senior Jenny Tran
From a United Way internship this summer to a leadership summit in Washington D.C., Tran, 17, will make the most of the next couple of months.
For now, she’s reading “Never Thought I’d End Up Here” by Ann Liang and listening to “Champagne Coast” by Blood Orange on repeat.
Then, she begins her senior year at University High School where she participates in more than a half-dozen clubs and organizations, including student council, the tennis and Spanish clubs and the Asian Student Union. We had three questions for Jenny during the heart of summer:
Q. What are you most excited for senior year?
A. Documenting every moment with my friends! I just bought a digital camera and I guarantee my friends will be seeing that little device everywhere they go. I can’t wait to load my camera up with thousands of photos and hours worth of vlogs. I know each moment will be especially valuable to me.
Q. What should Tucsonans be paying attention to in this moment and why?
A. Tucsonans need to be worried about intersectional climate justice. In (Arizona Youth Climate Coalition), we are constantly fighting to shed light on both the political and environmental climate as the two are closely related. It is our responsibility as a community to protect each other, and we cannot do that when climate change disproportionately hurts marginalized communities and continues to exacerbate some of Tucson’s biggest issues (like heat resilience). Our bodies and societies are not built to handle the treacherous summer heat, and we need to act now before it continues to plague our everyday actions. We need to stay educated and keep fighting for politicians to protect their citizens and prioritize climate justice.
Q. What’s your brain candy?
A. After a long day, I love binging K-dramas. I’ve always been a big lover of romance media, especially when it comes to a good friends-to-lovers trope. Watching these shows lets me decompress and enjoy the beautiful cinematography/story building.
Read the whiteboard
As Arizona legislators work to finalize the current budget — a $200 million shortfall has left public school districts in a holding pattern as they puzzle through local budget challenges.
The Arizona Department of Education told schools last week they could expect to receive 60% of their regular monthly payment unless the budget was passed or supplemental funding was approved by June 13.
At Tuesday’s Tucson Unified School District Governing Board meeting, a proposed budget was passed 4-0. But TUSD’s proposed budget numbers are based on last school year as the district waits on a state budget.
“What makes this problematic is that we’re essentially adopting a proposed budget based on old, Fiscal Year 2025 numbers,” said TUSD Chief Financial Officer Ricky Hernandez. “We went through this dance last year.”
Public schools throughout the state are in limbo. Rep. Nancy Gutierrez says while the budget delay is not ideal, it’s also not anything new. “The same thing happened last year,” she said.
The Legislature passed the budget on June 15, 2024 and Gov. Katie Hobbs signed it June 18.
“What this means is presenting a budget is not based on the reality of the situation,” Hernandez said. “It’s an incomplete picture to our community and that causes questions for us as a district. We have to take the heat for what we don’t know.”
Lawmakers are expected to return from a two-week break on June 16. The deadline to pass the state budget is June 30.
Read more
Gov. Hobbs vetos antisemitism bill: The proposal would have banned teaching antisemitism in K-12 schools throughout the state.
DEI survey: Are you an educator or administrator? Voice your perspective on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in education. A University of Arizona study seeks your input on DEI in the classroom. To participate in the survey: Go here.
Teachers, get hands-on STEM lessons: The STEMAZing Project will offer a session called “The Moon,” which includes lessons and materials for pre-K through fifth-grade teachers in Southern Arizona. The workshop is Wednesday, June 18-20 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Planetary Science Institute at 1700 E. Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106. Registration is $75 and includes breakfast and lunch and a teaching kit worth $450. Register here.
Free groceries: Check your family’s eligibility to get free groceries this summer. Low income families with any school-age student in any school district may qualify for this summer program.
Donate school supplies: Tucson Values Teachers is collecting school supplies. Donate here.
Share your stories: Do you seek answers or work for solutions? If you’re a parent, student, teacher, counselor, school administrator, education researcher, advocate or anyone connected to the education system, we want to hear from you. Tell us here.
Help your students adjust to post-high school life: A session of “Guiding Students through their Transition: Preparing for Life Beyond High School” is Friday, July 11 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Phoenix Training Center. The training is geared to middle and high school educators and will cover how to help students navigate post-graduation paths including vocational training, internships, higher education and entering the workforce. Registration is $125 per person for a four-person team, with more discounts for additional teachers. Sign up here.
TUSD will celebrate its summer graduates Wednesday, June 25 at 6 p.m. at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.
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