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Higley Unified launches student participatory budget pilot, earmarks $75,000 in capital funds
Summary
The board received an information item introducing a school participatory budgeting pilot that will give students direct control over limited capital funds: $5,000 per elementary school and $7,500 per secondary school, with a $75,000 district allocation for the first year.
The Higley Unified School District introduced a district-wide pilot of school participatory budgeting (SPB) intended to give students direct decision-making responsibility for modest capital projects at each campus.
Mister Armstrong, the staff presenter, described SPB as a student-driven civic learning process partnered with the Center for the Future of Arizona and Arizona State University's participatory governance initiative. He said the first-year district allocation is approximately $75,000 from the capital budget and that each elementary school will receive $5,000 and each secondary school $7,500 to fund winning projects.
Armstrong outlined a timeline: schools form steering committees in August (drawn from existing leadership clubs such as NJHS/NJHS/Student Council), brainstorm and develop project proposals, submit top proposals to the district by Nov. 21, campaign in January, hold student voting in February and present winning projects to the board on April 7. He said the district will supply vendor lists for procurement and will work with school administrators to ensure proposed purchases comply with district rules.
Board members asked about participation requirements, sponsor selection and whether the program would embed political content. Armstrong said the first year will use existing leadership club sponsors as steering committee sponsors and that district policy prevents teachers from using the process to push political views; he said the program is intended to be a practical civic exercise rather than a partisan activity.
Board members also raised measurement questions; Armstrong said the district will collect feedback from students, sponsors and administrators and evaluate school climate and learning outcomes through that feedback and by observing project implementation.
Armstrong said the pilot is intended to build student agency, civic skills and school engagement by having students develop proposals that are feasible within fixed dollar limits and then manage promotion and voting.
The board did not take action on the information item; the presentation was informational and staff will return with implementation details as the pilot proceeds.
