$375 Million Bond Proposal Going Before Scottsdale Voters This Fall

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Scottsdale Unified School District voters will decide this November whether to approve a $375 million bond aimed at upgrading campuses, improving security and modernizing technology across the district.

The governing board voted 5-0 Tuesday night to send the measure to the ballot, putting the funding plan in front of voters after scaling it back from an earlier estimate of more than $416 million.

If approved, the bond would fund improvements at more than two dozen schools, including learning environment upgrades, security enhancements, technology updates and infrastructure repairs.

The timing is deliberate. The district's last voter-approved bond, a $229 million measure passed in 2016, has been largely spent down addressing capital improvement priorities across the district.

As that remaining capacity dried up, district leaders began evaluating what would come next, and the list of unmet needs was long enough to justify going back to voters.

According to the presentation, the funding would be issued in three installments of $125 million each in 2027, 2029 and 2031.

The largest share — 34% — is allocated for learning environment improvements, followed by 25% for information technology, 20% for site lifecycle projects and 14% for security upgrades.

Remaining funds would go toward transportation, vehicles and administrative needs, according to officials.

For homeowners, the district estimates the bond would cost about $73 per year — roughly $6 per month — for a home valued at $250,000 by the county assessor.

For a home at the district’s average assessed value, which is $607,212, the cost would be about $13 per month, accoridng to Randie Stein, the Managing Director of Stifel Education Group, the country’s leading underwriter of K-12 school bonds.

Funding would not be distributed evenly across campuses. Desert Mountain Learning Community is slated to receive the largest share at 28%, followed by Chaparral at 18%, Coronado at 15%, and Arcadia and Saguaro at 14% each.

If voters approve the measure, the district plans to form a bond oversight committee that would meet monthly, review project updates and provide quarterly reports to the governing board. Financial updates would also be posted publicly on the district’s website.

The measure will go before voters in the November election.