Sunnyside Unified Governing Board adopts $248.6 million FY 2024-25 expenditure budget

The Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board on July 16 adopted the district's FY 2024-25 annual expenditure budget, approving a proposed $248,617,665 plan the district presented at a required public hearing.

Miss Walters, who presented the budget to the board, said during the hearing: "The fiscal year 24 25 annual expenditure budget is being submitted for final adoption with no changes from the budget that was proposed on June 25." She told the board the budget was prepared using Arizona Auditor General forms and posted on the district and ADE websites as required by ARS 15-16400(C).

The district prepared the budget assuming no enrollment decline and using ADE's most recent enrollment report. Walters said the state's base support level and transportation support level each increased by 2 percent and noted other statewide allocations: a District Additional Assistance pool (statewide $23,100,000) that the presenter estimated would yield roughly $180,000 for Sunnyside and a one-time free-and-reduced-meal allocation statewide of $37,000,000. Walters also reported classroom site fund rates rose from $758 to $792 per Group A weighted student.

The presenter gave fund-level totals and said last year's budget was about $294 million while the district's FY 2024-25 adopted budget is $248,617,665, representing a decrease of roughly $45.3 million. She said the district will develop a five-year capital-improvement plan and separately account for voter-approved override spending as required by the override ballot language.

After the presentation and a call for public comment, no members of the public addressed the board. A board member moved to adopt the budget as presented; the motion passed on a roll-call vote with all five members recorded as "aye."