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 district used to build the proposed budget and the district’s estimated assessed valuation. He told the board the $5,000,000 adjacent-ways levy was calculated from county assessor estimates and would be levied and collected in the normal property-tax cycles.

Community members spoke during the public hearing. Ed Steele, who identified himself as a community member, urged the board not to adopt the levy, saying, “No new taxes, guys. No new taxes.” He questioned whether the district could use existing carryforward funds instead of levying now and asked officials to find 1 percent savings in the roughly $500–600 million budget to avoid asking taxpayers for more.

Julie Sessions, who identified herself as a business owner, asked the board to "vote against the levy as it may cause the community to feel nickeled and dimed when it is time to vote on the bond." Rachel Bostock raised concerns about a $200,000 increase for Project Lead the Way and asked why some items were charged to the district’s maintenance-and-operations (M&O) fund rather than CTE funding; board staff later confirmed that the Project Lead the Way increase would be paid from CTE funds and related Perkins grant funds.

Board discussion and staff clarifications Chief Business Officer Tyler Moore, who had just joined the district, told the board the adjacent-ways levy is a single-year levy ("that, again, a 1 time tax to garner that $5,000,000") and that the $11.61 figure per $100,000 was the district’s calculation to achieve the $5 million target based on assessed-value estimates. Moore and Superintendent Dr. Straum described the levy as a pay-as-you-go alternative to bond sales and said bond proceeds carry interest and a different repayment profile.

Dr. Straum explained why some capital accounting lines shifted year to year: the district moved carryforward amounts and certain capital items into different function codes this year (for example, funds tied to removing portable classrooms were recorded under administrative capital rather than instructional furniture), which changed year-over-year percentage comparisons. He said the district is removing portable classrooms, which causes an up-front administrative capital cost but yields long-term M&O savings.

Board members pressed for transparency and detail. In response, the superintendent and staff said they will create quarterly citizen budget-committee meetings to review adjacent-ways line items and the proposed bond process. Dr. Straum said the committee would review line-item spending and that the district would bring back a more detailed project list to the public and the board.

Financial context and solvency concerns Administration described a tightening financial picture: staff said earlier carryforward and one-time federal grant funds have declined, and the district recently experienced sudden pauses or freezes in about $4.2 million in federal grant funds and reported approximately $21 million of state-related funds on pause. Administration said those reductions increase the importance of maintaining solvency and carryforward reserves while still addressing immediate capital needs.

Votes at a glance - Proposed 2025–26 budget (includes one-year $5,000,000 adjacent-ways levy): approved 4–1. - Project Lead the Way funding increase ($200,000): approved 5–0; staff later confirmed payment will come from CTE and Perkins funds. - Contract increase for Tyler Technologies (enterprise financial software) ($250,000): approved 5–0. - Personnel request (consent agenda): approved 5–0. - Arizona School Boards Association delegate and alternate (Courtney Davis delegate; Marcy Hutchinson alternate): approved 5–0.

What’s next Board members and staff said the budget will return in later revisions (the district expects a final budget revision by May 2026) and that the new citizen budget committee will review adjacent-ways projects and bond planning if the district pursues a bond in a future election. Administrators said they will provide the board with detailed line-item project lists and immediate-level (level‑1) project specifics on request.

The board approved the proposed 2025–26 budget by roll-call-style digital vote at the July 8 meeting; the record does not indicate the name of the member who voted no.