Higley Unified board hears first review of FY26 budget as district projects $9.2 million shortfall

At a governing-board meeting, Higley Unified School District staff presented a first review of the district's FY26 maintenance-and-operations (M&O) budget and outlined possible staff reductions and other measures to address a projected $9.2 million budget decrease.

The presentation by Tyler Moore, the district's chief financial officer, said the decrease is driven primarily by an expected 300 unweighted average daily membership (ADM) decline and the district's phase-down after voters did not approve a continuation of the local M&O override in November. Moore said the district is proposing $5.1 million in reductions to budgeted positions and other expenditure adjustments as part of initial planning.

"We're projecting a 300 unweighted ADM loss," Tyler Moore said during his presentation. He told the board the district currently estimates a carryforward balance in M&O of about $21.5 million for the current year, with a projected carryforward of about $17.5 million under the FY26 assumptions. Moore said one-time carryforward could be used short-term while the board and staff implement a longer-term plan.

Why it matters: The proposed reductions and the projected shortfall would affect staffing, school budgets and services across the district. Moore and Sherry, a district administrator who presented recommended position-level changes, emphasized administration is trying to minimize the impact on classrooms by using attrition, transfers to grant or rental funds where possible, and other non-layoff strategies.

Sherry said administrati…