A political action committee tasked with swaying voters to pass a $77.2-million bond for Higley Unified School District in November is already at work.
In order to give the PAC more time to promote the measure, the Governing Board called for the election in March – much earlier than last year, when it voted in June to go to the ballot box with a $95-million measure that was rejected by 54.64% of voters.
“With more time and resources to organize and education, the committee plans to contact as many voters and stakeholders as possible – providing factual information to persuade them to vote ‘yes,’” said PAC treasurer Paul Ulan, principal at Primary Consultants, a consulting firm that specializes in passing bond and override elections.
Ulan said 15 people so far have signed on to volunteer with the effort of going door-to-door and calling voters. The PAC also will use social media and mailings to get out their pro-bond message. The group relies solely on donations for the campaign and is prohibited from using district funds.
According to the district, there are roughly 60,000 voters in its boundaries. Officials say there would be no increase in the property tax rate if the bond is approved.
The PAC has already met and is in the process of selecting a new chair after Ben Harrison, a former district employee, stepped aside, Ulan said.
“The most persuasive way to get somebody to vote for something or for somebody is to look them eye-to-eye and get them to vote yes and that is what we are going to do,” said Ulan, who’s been pushing bonds and overrides for 30 years.
“Mail and social media and events are great but the most effective way is to get through to people and we were not able to do that last year – time constraints and COVID,” he added.
The group last year had roughly three months to promote the bond before the start of early voting in October for the all-mail election.
“It was hard to get stakeholders engaged,” Ulan recalled. “They didn’t know about the election.”
Although the district dropped the unpopular proposal to retire one of two controversial lease payments for Cooley and Sossaman middle schools with bond money, not everyone was sold on the new measure.
“Voted NO before and will do so again,” a woman wrote on social media when the board approved the second attempt at a bond. “HUSD bond costs are already the majority of my property tax bill! My money doesn’t grow on trees, does yours? Enough is enough!”
And a man wrote, “Let them spend within their means…like everyone else.”
But Ulan said, “When we are asking for $77 million, I’m not surprised that there are people that are opposed to it.
“I think you have people not just in Higley, it’s across the state and county (saying) – ‘I’m opposed to it, it’s more money, I don’t have kids in schools, my kids go to private or charter school and I don’t like Higley School District. I don’t like how the money’s spent or want to go after prior bad acts.’ It doesn’t make it right or wrong.
“There is not a PAC in this county that will convert somebody who’s saying, ‘I’m voting no.’ Our job is go out and find two ‘yes’ votes rather than to convert a ‘no’ vote.”
The prior “bad acts “refer to then-Superintendent Denise Birdwell’s execution of the lease agreements in 2012 with a third-party for the use of two new buildings to house Cooley and Sossaman, the district’s first and only middle schools. It was during a time the district was seeing a big uptick in student enrollment.
The total cost of the two leases over their lifetime to the district is nearly $160 million. Each year, HUSD directs $4.4 million of its capital funding to the two payments and has paid to date approximately $44 million.
A grand jury last July indicted Birdwell for alleged bid rigging and payoffs while at HUSD. Three others outside the district also were indicted.
Ulan said the bond had an advantage going into an even election year, where it will share space with state, municipal and school candidates running for office.
“We will have a higher turnout than last year,” Ulan said. “I think that helps us.”
The mail election saw a 23.3-percent turnout, which was expected for an off-year election.
The last time the district went out for a successful bond election was in 2013.
The $70 million went toward projects such as building more classrooms at Williams Field High School, buying school buses and constructing Bridges Elementary campus.
HUSD, with 13 campuses in Gilbert and parts of Queen Creek housing 12,500 students, is one of the fastest growing districts in the state. According to HUSD, over the next five years about 3,000 new students are expected. Only Queen Creek Unified in the East Valley is projecting an even bigger increase – with 7,000 students expected by 2030.
The latest bond proposal includes $38.6 million to build a new elementary school, begin the second phase of renovations at Higley High School and upgrade the Higley Center for Performing Arts.
Some of the upgrades for the arts center, which opened in 2006, include fire-panel replacement, flooring, roofing, HVAC and exterior weatherization.
Overhauls proposed for Higley High included converting the existing gym into a competition gym and renovating the campus, courtyard and common areas.
Phase 1 used the remaining money from the 2013 bond to begin expanding the high school with the construction of a two-story building containing approximately 12 classrooms and two lecture halls.
Projects are called for just about every school and program in the district.
The bond proposes to spend $19.3 million for technology such as display panels, projectors, teacher laptops, desktops and copiers and $17 million for major maintenance such as flooring, roofing, HVAC and grounds improvement. The remaining $2.3 million would pay for safety equipment such as security cameras and two-way radio upgrades.
For instance, the nine elementary campuses, including Cortina in Queen Creek would receive projects under all three categories while the two middle schools, including Sossaman in Queen Creek would get technology and safety projects.
The district also will hold its roadshows, presenting the bond to the public. Spokeswoman Teresa Joseph said the dates for those have not yet been scheduled.
Even though last year’s roadshows were not well-attended - only one member from the public attended the first one, it’s necessary, Ulan said.
“I think if you don’t do it you get criticized for hiding the election,” he said. “I think the district has an obligation to go out and provide that factual information and do it so people will have a chance to get that information.”
So while the district does its part, the PAC is committed to advocating for passage of the 2022 Higley bond, Ulan said.
When asked if he thinks the bond will pass this time, Ulan responded, “you can’t win all the time but you try to win more than you lose.”
