For the first time in more than three decades, voters agreed to an override for the Tucson Unified School District, Wednesday evening’s unofficial preliminary results of Proposition 414 show.
Prop. 414 was passing with 56% of the vote as of Wednesday evening.
In the Sunnyside and Flowing Wells Unified School Districts, bonds of $120 million and $30 million, respectively, are on their way to approval, the unofficial results show.
Propositions 414, 415, and 416 would boost education spending in three Tucson-area school districts, affecting nearly 70,000 K-12 students and almost 10,000 full-time employees. The three propositions include big-picture pay raises, building repairs, expanding student programs, upgrading athletic facilities and improving HVAC systems.
“What this override promises to do is transform the academic trajectory of our district,” TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said Wednesday afternoon. “At the centerpiece of this effort is going to be a historic raise for our teachers — a $3,000 a year raise for the life of this override. Academically, it’s going to put reading and math intervention teachers in all the schools that don’t currently have them which is going to be huge for academic performance and school improvement in our district.”
On Tuesday night, about 30 members of the Tucson Education Association, the labor union that represents teachers and most other classified employees in the Tucson Unified School District, ate pizza at American Eat Company on Tucsons south side. Some TEA members chased toddlers and others hung out with their families, as they waited for preliminary results on Prop 414, TUSD’s $45 million override.
“I am anxious. Just anxious,” said C.E. Rose K-8 counselor Nicole Janzen as she stepped outside the American Eat Company bar. “I would say 99% of the people that answered doors when I knocked on them were like ‘yes, we will do anything for educators, anything for schools.’ ”
Union members have canvassed over the last two months — knocking on doors all over the Tucson area in Southern Arizona’s largest district with about 40,000 students and 7,000 employees at 88 schools.
“I myself, along with my husband, hit maybe 200 doors and every person we were able to talk to was very positive,” said TUSD Governing Board President Jennifer Eckstrom. “I was somewhat confident.”
Eckstrom’s positive vibes radiated on Tuesday. It was her birthday. “I tell people I was born into politics because every so often election day is on my birthday,” she said. “Voters are seeing what’s going on with schools and they are understanding.”
The cornerstone of TUSD’s $45 million budget override is a 4% raise for certified teachers. For example, a first-year teacher earning the base pay of $37,800 today would make $39,312.
The raise could help Arizona lift its national education profile — which is consistently near the bottom. In 2024, Arizona ranked 49th nationally in elementary teacher pay and 42nd in secondary teacher pay, according to data from The Center for the Future of Arizona.
The override combines two key priorities from the district and the Tucson Education Association: Provide immediate raises to make teacher pay more competitive, and increase long-term career earnings with increases to steps in the salary schedule to retain educators.
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The average TUSD teacher salary was $56,898 for this past school year, according to its website. That’s up 3% from 2024 — but it’s 21% below the national average.
Even as some states pass record increases, average teacher pay has failed to keep up with inflation over the past decade. Adjusted for inflation, teachers across the nation on average make 5% less than they did 10 years ago, according to National Education Association data.
Almost all local school districts have overrides in place, but TUSD has not had one in over 30 years. The last time the largest school district in Southern Arizona asked for an override, in 2009, voters said no.
Overrides and bonds each affect property taxes. But overrides pay for people — teachers, staff, new programs, etc. — and are not paid back. Bonds are loans and pay for capital expenses — building renovations, new construction, security systems, etc. — and are paid back over time with interest.
Overrides typically last seven years and are funded through property taxes. The average TUSD homeowner would pay about $200 a year more on a home valued at $200,000, based on a proposed increase of $1.02 per $100 of net assessed valuation.
The override package equals 15% of the district’s revenue control limit — the maximum budget calculated by state funding formulas. It would generate a maximum of about $45 million a year in the first five years, followed by $30 million in year six and $15 million in year seven. Districts typically go back to voters to renew an override in years four or five, TUSD Chief Financial Officer Ricky Hernández said.
The package focuses on six areas:
- Compensation: Increasing teacher salaries at a cost of $7.3 million, all other district employees would get a pay bump, too.
- Student success: Add reading and math interventionists at all schools without the positions, maintain fine arts and add art and music programs at 14 schools, at a cost of $11.2 million.
- Mental and physical health: Fund school counselors, hire social workers at all high schools and hire PE teachers for all elementary and K-8 schools at $12.9 million.
- Future achievers: Help students retake courses for credit and focus on student attendance.
- Early learners: Add five new pre-K classrooms.
- Career and technology investment: Hire specialists and career coaches.
Voters agreed in November 2023, when they approved TUSD’s 10-year, $480 million bond measure to renovate aging schools and update security and safety systems, technology and vehicles. That money comes from bond sales and is repaid over time. An override would increase property taxes for seven years.
“This means we know Tucson voters believe in TUSD and the staff who enrich our students’ lives,” said TEA president Jim Byrne. “It also means we have secured a crucial source of funding that can maintain and enhance what’s happening on our campuses. We know this doesn’t fix everything, but it’s an important step on the road to the schools our students deserve.”
Sunnyside’s Prop 416 passing
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. It will be repaid over a maximum of 20 years.
An assessment last school year revealed 15 of Sunnyside’s 21 sites are between poor and fair condition, said Sunnyside superintendent Jose Gastelum.
“We hit it hard in terms of getting out and sharing factual information and sharing the why,” Gastelum said Tuesday night as early results were posted. “People got out and to know that they are voting for it speaks volumes for us.”
“We passed an override in 2023 and two years later asking for this bond, it comes full circle,” he said. “There’s still trust in the community and they believe in what we are doing. I owe it to our families and our voters and some have children in the district and some don’t and if we want great schools and great communities, you have to invest and they have done that.”
The bond focuses on six areas:
- Construction, renovation and modernization of all 21 school sites and grounds including Sunnyside High School building replacements
- Critical safety and security improvements.
- Athletic and fine arts facility upgrades.
- Replacement and upgrades of structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and roofing systems.
- Classroom technology, furniture and equipment.
- Student transportation vehicles.
Flowing Wells passing Prop 415
The Flowing Wells bond asked taxpayers for $30 million in capital improvements focusing on new building construction, renovation and updates. The bond funds are to be repaid over a maximum of 20 years.
“We are really grateful for our community showing their support for our district,” Flowing Wells Assistant Superintendent Tamára McAllister said Tuesday night as preliminary results came in. “We really feel like this vote is an affirmation of the work we do in Flowing Wells and this is beginning the work of using the funds and putting them to use.”
According to Flowing Wells Superintendent Kevin Stoltzfus, proposed 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.
The bond focuses on five areas:
- Safety and security improvements, including upgraded fencing, secured entryways, shatter-resistant glass, camera systems, and improved parking and foot traffic areas.
- Replacement of deteriorating portable buildings used for classrooms, beforeand after-school programs, and staff work areas.
- Energy and water efficiency improvements, including expanded solar electrical production and restroom upgrades to save water, beautify, and improve access for people with disabilities.
- Construction of a new early childhood center on the campus of Richardson Elementary School, expanding access to our high-quality preschool programs.
- New buses and vans for student transportation, replacing several vehicles that exceed 20 years of service.
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