Election

The Chandler Unified School District Governing Board has called for a special Bond & Override election on November 4, 2025. This is an all-mail election.

Override RENEWAL Items

For three decades CUSD overrides have provided funds to:

maintain safety personnel & initiatives at District schools
maintain competitive class sizes
support teacher pay
maintain specialized programming, instructional materials, and enhance technology

What is the Override & Why is the District Seeking Renewal?

A continuation of the override would maintain current funding levels for the next seven years, with a phase-down beginning in year five if not renewed.

Without voter approval, the override would begin to phase out, directly impacting class sizes, teacher compensation, and various student programs.

An override is a financial mechanism that allows school districts to exceed their state-imposed budget limits to support operational expenses such as salaries, benefits, supplies, and utilities. CUSD is proposing to continue its 15% M&O override, which has been in place since 2013 and has helped fund:

what is the Bond and Why is it Being Requested?

It is the opinion of the Governing Board that additional funding for construction, acquisition, building, and site improvements would help the District maintain the over $1B investment by the District in its existing facilities. In addition, the District would use funds to purchase pupil transportation vehicles, furniture, equipment and technology for instructional purposes. Capital funding through the annual funding formula, District Additional Assistance, is limited. State funding for major building renovations is also limited and, funding for new construction and building replacements is only available when student space is at capacity. As a result of COVID, the District provided computer devices for over 42,000 students, which are scheduled to be replaced. Additionally, the transportation formula does not cover bus replacements.

Bond Line Items $271.5 Million

Transportation Fleet
Instructional – land, construction, school improvement
Instructional – furniture & equipment & technology

What Is the Difference Between a Bond & Override?

A bond provides the district with additional funding for capital expenditures such as new buildings, building additions, land acquisitions, school buses, building renovations, furniture, equipment, and technology. Conversely, an override pertains to operational expenses including salaries, benefits, supplies, purchased services, utilities, and insurance.

Tax Impact

The estimated first year tax rate for the proposed budget override amount is $1.09 per $100 of assessed valuation.

The estimated average tax rate for the proposed bond authorization is $0.32 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Based on current projections and the District’s plans for issuance, the bond tax rate for the fiscal year 2026-2027 (following a successful 2025 bond election) is expected to be approximately the same as the $1.28 bond tax rate for fiscal year 2024-25. With the approval of the bond program, this rate is projected to remain constant according to current projections. Projected property values and the District’s current plans for issuance of bonds are subject to change and that bonds to be authorized at the Bond Election would be payable from a property tax without limitation as to rate or amount.

Graph showing estimated tax rate for override

Did You Know?

Out of hundreds of school districts, CUSD is among the top for percentage of funding allocated to classroom spending.
CUSD continues to be one of the lowest districts for administration costs per student.

How Large Is CUSD?
1,000 Acres (in football fields this is 756 fields)

80 Square Miles (this is about the size of the City of Chandler)

5.5 million square feet (almost the size of two Disneyland theme parks stacked together)

Chandler's 2nd largest employer (5,000+ employees)

Arizona's second largest district (40,000+ students)

Election DatesNovember 4 Election Day

October 27 - November 4: The CUSD District Office will have a ballot drop box. You may drop off your ballot during regular business hours (M-F 7:30am - 4:30pm). On Election Day (November 4) the hours will be 6:00am - 7:00pm.

Where to Vote