Mesa Public Schools approves 2025–26 budget with one-year $5 million adjacent-ways levy after public hearing

The Mesa Public Schools Governing Board on July 8 approved a proposed 2025–26 budget that includes a one-year truth-in-taxation levy of $5,000,000 for “adjacent ways” projects, after a public hearing and board discussion. The motion to adopt the proposed budget passed by a vote of 4–1.

The levy is a one-year property-tax levy that the district expects to collect during the fiscal year to fund immediate capital work near school sites. During the hearing, Mesa finance staff presented an estimated net assessed valuation increase of about 3.8 percent and an estimated overall tax rate of 6.1137 for the 2025–26 year. The district said that, taken together, most tax line items show a net decrease of about $41 per $100,000 of assessed value; the adjacent-ways item is estimated to add roughly $11.61 per $100,000 to fund the $5 million request.

Why it matters: district leaders said the levy is intended to address immediate maintenance and public-right-of-way projects that cannot be delayed without increasing cost or safety risk. Administrators said federal and state funding uncertainty and shrinking carryforward reserves made the one-year levy necessary this year rather than relying solely on carryforward or an uncertain state grant process.

Budget presentation and public comments Mr. Alexander, who led the budget presentation, reviewed the 2025–26 assumptions, including the state funding increases the…