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Mesa Schools Face $1B Repair Gap After Voters Reject $449M Bond
Mesa voters narrowly rejected a $449 million bond for school repairs, leaving the district to rely on preventive maintenance and possible state funding while facing over $1 billion in debt. The school board will discuss $5 million in emergency AC repairs Thursday.
MESA, Ariz. â Mesa Public Schools is grappling with how to address aging buildings and mounting infrastructure needs after voters narrowly rejected a $449 million bond measure in the Nov. 3 election. A small number of ballots are still being counted, but they are not expected to change the outcome.
"Fifty percent of the population said no, and 50% said yes," school board member Lacy Chaffee said.
Superintendent Matthew Strom emailed district parents on Saturday about the result, saying the district will focus on preventive maintenance of its buildings.
"Mesa Public Schools has a proud history of adapting to challenges, embracing opportunities and working together in the best interests of students," Strom wrote. "That commitment remains unchanged."
Chaffee said she is disappointed but believes funding could still come. She pointed to a recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling that found underfunding public schools is unconstitutional and said the newly elected Legislature may agree. She said she wishes Mesa voters had agreed, too.
"I think that maybe they're not investing in public education the way they did when their kids were in school," Chaffee said. "A lot of that has to do with the economy. People want to see prices lowered, and they're feeling it in their wallets."
Voters did approve Proposition 420, which gives the district more freedom to sell and lease underused buildings. Chaffee said that would bring in money, but not enough for a district that is more than $1 billion in debt.
Jason Smithson, a Mesa businessman who lost his bid for a school board seat, said he still opposes funding projects like these. He said there are other sources of money the district has not looked at.
"The stakeholders of Mesa don't believe that Mesa Public Schools has provided that trust and transparency that's needed to ask our taxpayers to increase their taxes again for another seven years," Smithson said.
Chaffee told ABC15 that the school board's meeting Thursday night will include discussion of a $5 million expense to repair air conditioners at schools. That is one of the costs the bond money would have helped pay for.
The bond rejection leaves the district searching for alternatives to address critical repairs and upgrades across its facilities, with the state's constitutional obligation to adequately fund public schools potentially offering a path forward.