A metro Phoenix school district with more than 33,600 students is asking voters this fall to approve a $325 million bond designed to fund a wide variety of facility upgrade and repair projects.
Headquartered in Phoenix, the Deer Valley Unified School District was founded in 1934 and today encompasses nearly forty elementary, middle, and high schools serving the cities of Phoenix, as well as Anthem, Glendale, and Peoria.
One of the largest districts in Arizona, the Deer Valley district has also witnessed steady growth: in the fall of 2000, the district was home to around 27,500 students.
The new bond will, as planned, pay for security upgrades, building renewal work, heating and cooling system upgrades, and conservation projects. Additional projects could see the construction of both a new elementary school as well as high school.
The project list was put together by a citizen advisory committee that met several times this spring and determined upon the most pressing needs of the district’s schools.
School officials have been particularly concerned with maintaining and upgrading the district’s facilities given that it is also the home of the massive Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s $40 billion semiconductor chip plant, which is expected to contribute to the area’s future population growth.
Deer Valley District voters have been consistently supportive in past bond elections: Bond proposals met with success in each of the last five elections between 2001 and 2019.
By Garry Boulard
