The Tempe Union High School District Governing Board on Sept. 11 approved a package of long-term budget recommendations intended to close a projected structural gap in the district's maintenance-and-operations (M&O) budget.

The motion, made by President Montero and seconded by Member Bridal, passed by voice vote with no opposition (5-0). The recommendations were developed by a nine-meeting Long Term Budget Committee chaired by district financial advisor Roland Carranza.

Why it matters: Carranza told the board the district faces a long-term enrollment decline that will reduce state funding: "we're projected to lose 2,613 students in the next 10 years," he said, using the demographer's projection. That enrollment loss, combined with an assumption that state per-student funding will rise by legislatively set amounts (modeled at 2% annually), produces a multi-year shortfall the committee calculated at $13.4 million.

What the plan contains: The committee recommended three principal approaches to reach the $13.4 million target: continued alignment of classroom staffing to enrollment (class-size policy), limited use of capital-to-M&O transfers while remaining below the state's suggested 25% threshold, and reductions in administrative, specialist and classified positions at both district and school levels. Carranza said earlier reorganizations eliminated six positions, saving $752,000; the committee later identified approximately 60.19 additional position changes (23.2 at the district office level and 37 at schools) totaling just over $5.0 million in M&O reductions.

On reserves and modeling: Carranza said the district had about $17,000,000 in one-time M&O carryover projected for contingency and that the district's M&O revenues would remain near $100 million across the 10-year model when netting projected enrollment declines against assumed 2% per-student funding increases.

Employee notifications and redactions: District leaders said detailed slides showing the exact positions were redacted to protect impacted employees' privacy; Carranza said affected staff would be informed directly before public disclosure and that the board would publish position-level details at the next regular meeting for transparency.

Other recommendations and follow-up: The committee proposed creating a separate governing-board committee to define a numeric trigger (for example, a percent classroom-utilization threshold) that could prompt consideration of school consolidation or closure in the future. The committee also recommended exploring sale, lease or exchange of vacant district land to create reserves.

Board reaction and next steps: Board members repeatedly described the decision as difficult and underscored the human impact of personnel reductions. Vice President James and other board members encouraged public advocacy on state funding policies and noted the role of Education Savings Accounts in Arizona's funding debates. The board approved the recommendation and scheduled a special meeting Oct. 15 for the 2024 annual financial report; staff said they will meet with affected employees immediately as the district begins implementation steps.

What was not decided: The board did not vote on closing any schools and said the recommended school-closure trigger policy would be developed separately. Exact lists of impacted positions and site assignments were redacted and will be posted after employees are notified.

Quotes: Roland Carranza, Long Term Budget Committee chair and district financial advisor, said: "We have to plan for the next 10 years; the demographer projects that we're projected to lose 2,613 students in the next 10 years." Vice President James, an ex officio committee member, told the board: "This is heavy" and urged community engagement on state policy and elections affecting education funding.

The vote: Motion to approve Item I1 (Long Term Budget Committee recommendations) — approved 5-0. The board indicated the implementation work will proceed immediately, starting with personal notifications and follow-up staffing exercises by school and district leadership.