2025 Election

The DVUSD M&O override is a voter authorization to exceed the amount of the budget otherwise allowed by the State of Arizona. This additional amount provides local support of instructional programs deemed important by the community.

The district is asking to restore the override for the FY27 (2026-27) budget by 15% to prevent further cuts to teacher pay, free full day kindergarten, and arts & athletics.

No! The bond initiative of past years is separate from the M&O override. The M&O override restores funds to school programs, support services, free full day kindergarten, athletics and arts programs, and a portion of teacher and staff pay.

A bond pays for capital improvements-- physical structures and operations such as building new schools, replacing carpeting, updating HVAC systems, and installing and maintaining new security systems. The bond is not on the ballot this November.

The total cost of the override for homeowners is less than $20.67 per month on the average assessed home value. That's an average annual cost of $248.04.

What average expenses in Arizona cost more than $248.04?

One month of groceries for one person ($278.83).

One month of health care coverage ($569).

One month of childcare in a classroom ($787 - $1,293).

Four tickets to an Arizona Cardinals home game ($452.46).

One month of HOA dues ($448).

Four tickets for Disneyland admission ($1,736).

Continuing to fund your community's public education is often less expensive than many activities we take for granted.

The M&O override would restore funds and provide additional resources for:

• Funding to Attract and Retain Teachers & Staff.
• Maintaining Class Sizes.
• Supporting Co-curricular/Extracurricular Activities such as Arts, Chorus, Band, Theater, Dance, Physical Education, and Athletics.
• Supporting Specialized Programs for Students, such as Language Immersion, Gifted Services, online Education (Aspire), ROTC, Fine Arts, International Baccalaureate.
• Dedicated Funding Source for Free Full-Day Kindergarten, including transportation.
• Supporting School and Department Needs.
• Continuing Support Services Staff, such as Counseling, Nursing, Literacy, and Instructional Technology.

If the override is not reauthorized, the District would not be able to maintain the current level of programs and services and would have to continue to make reductions. The district would have to reduce investments in district and school programs by an estimated $11 million in each of the next two years (for a total of approximately $22 million), following initial cuts of $11 million due to the override not being reauthorized by district residents in November 2024.

This means the possible end of student and family programs such as free full-day kindergarten, cuts to athletics and arts programs, and the inability to attract and retain highly-qualified employees.

DVUSD is required to get voter approval to restore M&O Override funding. M&O Override funding is only fully funded for five years, so the M&O Override appears on the ballot at least every five years.

DVUSD currently allots 72.5% of its budget to in-classroom spending. That's one of the highest amounts of in-classroom spending per student for similar sized districts in the state of Arizona.

See the full details in the Arizona Auditor General's report for fiscal year 2024.