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Higley Unified to pilot school participatory budget: students to propose and vote on small capital projects
Summary
District will pilot a student-led participatory budgeting program next school year. Elementary schools will receive $5,000 each and secondary schools $7,500 each from a district capital allocation of about $75,000 to fund student-selected campus projects.
The Higley Unified School District on July 10 approved an information item to pilot a school participatory budget (SPB) program that will give students a direct role in choosing small capital projects for their campuses.
Assistant/Director (presenter) Mr. Armstrong described SPB as a student-driven civic learning process that pairs project-based learning with limited capital resources. "Each elementary school is gonna receive $5,000. Secondary schools are gonna receive $7,500," Armstrong said, adding the district has earmarked approximately $75,000 in the capital budget for the pilot year.
How it will work: each school will form a student steering committee made up of existing leadership groups (for example, NJHS/NHS or student council) to solicit ideas from the student body, develop five proposals for review by school administration, and then run a student vote on the final project. The steering committee will research vendors (the district's finance department will provide an approved vendor list) and lead promotion and campaigning before a district review and final purchase.
Timeline and oversight Armstrong described a pilot timeline that begins with steering‑committee formation in August, proposal development over September-November, district review by late November, promotion and student voting in February, and board-level presentations in April. He said the district sponsor and school administration will provide oversight and that the program is intentionally student-led to emphasize civic learning.
Board questions and concerns Board members asked how participation and equity would be ensured, whether club sponsors would receive additional stipends, and how the district would measure success. Armstrong said the pilot will embed the work into existing club sponsor roles for the first year (no additional stipend planned) and that staff will collect feedback from students, sponsors and administrators to assess climate, engagement and learning outcomes.
Concerns about politics and process Board members also asked about potential politicization of the process and whether sponsors might improperly influence students. Armstrong said district policy governing political activity in schools would apply and that the program is focused on project planning and voting rather than political advocacy.
Why it matters: the pilot aims to combine civic education with tangible campus improvements while giving students responsibility for a finite budget to prioritize projects.
No formal board vote was required for the information item; staff will proceed with the pilot and return with results and lessons learned after the first year.
