Tempe Union board approves 2025–26 budget, renews SRO agreement and adopts world-language materials

The Tempe Union High School District governing board on a 5-0 vote approved the district's proposed 2025'26 expenditure budget and on a separate 4-1 vote renewed an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Phoenix for school resource officers for the 2025'26 school year. The board also approved recommended world-language instructional resources following a 60-day public review period and accepted several donations to district schools.

The budget approval and the SRO agreement were the most consequential items the board acted on at the meeting, which lasted about 46 minutes from the time it was called to order at 6:01 p.m. The budget passed unanimously; the SRO renewal passed with four members voting in favor and one opposed. Eric Sorensen of the district's Teaching and Learning Department asked the board to approve the world-language resources the adoption committee had recommended after vendor presentations on March 26, 2025, and a 60-day public review during which one person inspected materials but no written comments were submitted. "We respectfully request the board's approval of the world language resources recommended by our committee," Sorensen said.

Why this matters: budget adoption sets spending and programs for the coming school year; the SRO intergovernmental agreement determines continued school-police collaboration for the 2025'26 year; and instructional-material adoptions guide curriculum for French and AP Spanish classrooms.

Board action and context The board moved the meeting agenda and approved a consent calendar covering listed consent items F1'F15 by unanimous votes earlier in the session. Item G1 was the world-language resource adoption. Sorensen told the board the World Language Resource Adoption Committee, composed of teachers from district campuses, reviewed submitted materials, invited vendors to present on March 26, 2025, and reached consensus on three top resources; print and digital copies were then available at district offices for 60 days. The board approved that recommendation 5-0 (motion moved by Board Member Haach; second by Board Member Montero).

On the budget, the board approved the district's proposed 2025'26 expenditure budget 5-0 after a motion (mover: Board Member Hodge). During the vote a board member said they supported the budget but urged more outreach to increase enrollment in the district's Transition-to-Work (TSW) services program, which has experienced cuts; that comment was recorded as a request for future outreach and program promotion rather than a condition of budget approval.

On Item H2, the board approved the intergovernmental agreement renewal with the City of Phoenix for school resource officers for 2025'26 by a 4-1 vote (mover and seconder were recorded during the meeting; individual yes/no names were not recorded in the available transcript). The board later grouped and approved items H3 through H9 together by unanimous vote.

Donations and recognitions Superintendent Dr. Wilson recognized Principal Banks for her service as the principals' representative on the executive team for the 2024'25 school year and noted Mountain Pointe High School earned an A grade from the Arizona Department of Education and an A+ designation from the Arizona Education Foundation while she served as the principal representative. The board also recorded donations: two $250,000 contributions from the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority to Corona del Sol and Desert Vista high schools, a $3,250 donation from the Mountain Pointe High School Spirit Line Booster, and a $1,677 donation from the City of Tempe to Desert Vista High School.

Other business and facilities updates Board members reported on recent professional development and association events, including the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) Summer Leadership Institute and related conferences. President Barraza and other board members described site visits to Mountain Pointe High School construction and renovation projects; district staff and facilities contractors reported science labs, auditorium and bathroom renovations are underway, with crews coordinating permits, supply-chain issues and scheduling. Facilities staff named in remarks included Sean McDonald and Tony Pena; the district's facilities partner, Facilities Management Group, was also mentioned.

Public comment and executive session No members of the public signed up to speak during public comment. Earlier in the meeting the board voted to enter an executive session and later voted unanimously to reconvene; the transcript does not record substantive details from the executive session.

Votes at a glance - Consent agenda (items F1'F15): approved 5-0. - World-language resource adoption (G1): approved 5-0. Motion moved by Board Member Haach; seconded by Board Member Montero. The adoption committee held vendor presentations on 03/26/2025 and a 60-day public review (1 person inspected materials; no written comments). - 2025'26 expenditure budget (H1): approved 5-0. Motion moved by Board Member Hodge. Comment: a board member urged additional outreach to boost Transition-to-Work (TSW) program enrollment after recent cuts. - Intergovernmental agreement with City of Phoenix for school resource officers (H2): approved 4-1 (one member opposed). Motion and second were recorded in the meeting; individual roll-call names for the four yes and one no were not specified in the available transcript. - Grouped items H3'H9: approved 5-0.

What the board did not decide The transcript shows the board entered and exited an executive session; members noted its occurrence but did not disclose substantive content in open session. No policy or ordinance changes beyond the listed approvals were recorded in open session.

Closing and next meeting The board adjourned at 6:47 p.m. The next regular meeting was scheduled for July 9, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.