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Tempe governing board approves amended 2025 budget and authorizes sale of about $117 million in school bonds
Summary
The Tempe Elementary School District governing board approved a revised fiscal-year financial report and amended 2025 budget and voted to authorize sale of roughly $117 million remaining from the November 2022 school improvement bond, chiefly to rebuild Curry and Connolly schools.
The Tempe Elementary School District governing board voted to approve a revised Annual Financial Report (AFR) and an amended fiscal 2025 budget and authorized the sale of the remaining bonds from the district’s November 2022 school improvement authorization, district staff said.
During discussion, district finance presenter Thompson said the AFR revision was required because an unusual grant ran from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, creating expenses outside the grant period that needed to be reassigned to allowable funds before the AFR is resubmitted to the Arizona Department of Education. After the presentation, a board member (Miller) moved to adopt the amended 2025 budget; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
Thompson then asked the board to adopt a resolution authorizing sale of the remaining bond issuance. "It's about a $117,000,000, and the vast majority of it will go toward the Curry and Connolly build," he said, introducing bond counsel and underwriters present for technical questions. He told the board this sale would be the final tranche from the 2022 authorization.
Board member Terry asked for clarification on how the district can spend large sums on construction while operating areas face cuts, saying: "Can you just state briefly why it is we can spend a $100,000,000 building new schools when we have to cut funds elsewhere?" Thompson responded that Arizona’s funding structure separates capital bond proceeds from operating funds; bond proceeds are limited by voter materials to capital projects such as school renovations, buses and other physical items and "are not allowed to go toward teacher pay, principal pay, [or] bus driver pay." He added that the bond language and state law constrain how the proceeds may be used.
The chair noted the immediate facility need at Connolly and Curry, describing the HVAC systems as failing and saying the board was working to replace equipment to avoid school closures on hot days. The board then moved and approved the resolution to sell the remaining 2022 bonds.
Next steps: staff said the district will work with bond counsel and underwriters to complete the sale and return with transactional details; the AFR will be resubmitted to ADE after the board’s approvals.
