Marana Unified will move campuses to town water after PFAS tests exceeded federal limit

MARANA, Ariz. — Marana Unified School District will stop running its own water system and connect several campuses to the town of Marana's supply, after testing in 2023 and 2024 found PFAS above the federal limit. The district's Governing Board approved an agreement with the town and the state on Thursday, Oct. 15.

PFAS sampling found levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per trillion, according to the board packet. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has determined that the district's system will not meet the EPA standard when the standard takes effect. The system serves district facilities along Grier, Lon Adams and McDuff roads, about 2,000 people through nine service connections. The motion the board adopted named Estes Elementary School.

The board had tabled the agreement Sept. 24. On Thursday it voted to take the item off the table and then approved it.

Under the agreement, the state, acting through the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona, will use a federal Emerging Contaminants Small and Disadvantaged Communities grant to build about 50 feet of water line connecting the district's system to the town's. It will also cap the district's two wells and demolish its 200,000-gallon storage tank and booster pumps. The packet lists $368,000 in grant-funded construction and demolition costs. The state's obligations depend on the grant money remaining available. The town is separately building a PFAS treatment system that will serve the district's facilities, according to the packet.

The district has spent $93,994.11 on design and permits so far. It also expects to pay $696,994 in town water impact fees from its Adjacent Ways fund, plus a meter fee estimated at $10,000 to $20,000. The packet estimates the district's water bill at about $164,017 a year, based on the 21.89 million gallons it used last year. That estimate uses the town's 6-inch meter rate, because the town has not yet set rates for the 8-inch meter the district will use.

For comparison, the packet estimates that rebuilding the district's own wells, tank and pumps would cost about $1.7 million, before any treatment. As a benchmark for treating the water itself, it cites the town's $11.3 million budget for PFAS treatment at its Pioneer Well, a plant designed for up to 1,100 gallons per minute, which the town budgets about $99,000 a year to operate.

Assistant Superintendent Mark Goligoski, who presented the item, said the details and benefits had been discussed at the board's last study session. Goligoski said answers to the board's questions were in the packet. One board member thanked those who had worked on the project "for a long, long time" to get people safe water.

Board member Tom Carlson was absent. President Kathryn Mikronis presided over the 32-minute meeting. Every motion carried by voice vote with no opposition.

Superintendent gets authority over weapons detection systems

The board approved revisions to three policies. Superintendent Dr. Dan Streeter said the revisions reflect changes in state law and recommendations from the Arizona School Boards Association.

The revised superintendent duties policy implements House Bill 2370, which the governor signed this year. Under the change, the board may authorize the superintendent to modify a weapons detection system at a district school without prior board approval. Streeter said the district has such systems at two of its sites. The superintendent must report each modification to the board within 24 hours, and no one else may modify a system without the board's prior approval.

A board member asked whether calibrating a machine counts as a modification. Streeter said "modification" is not clearly defined in the statute and that the question came up often as the bill moved through the Legislature. He said the district plans to hold a study session as soon as possible on how its current systems are calibrated, so the board has a baseline before reporting begins.

The revised agenda policy reflects House Bill 2876, which amends Arizona's open meeting law. Public bodies may no longer place a proposal to impose or increase a tax rate, assessment or fee on a consent agenda. Any matter discussed in executive session that requires a final board vote must also go on the regular agenda. Streeter said the change would have no impact on the district's current practices.

The revised board member conflict-of-interest policy adds requirements for annual board training, disclosure forms, investigations and record keeping. Streeter said district administration would provide the training rather than an outside service.

District closes fiscal year with positive balances

The board approved the district's 2025-26 Annual Financial Report. Chief Financial Officer Thomas Bogart said the report shows a strong financial foundation. He gave these year-end balances:

Maintenance and operation: $637,000
Unrestricted capital: $5.7 million
Adjacent ways: $2.4 million
Bond building: about $11 million in cash, which has been encumbered

The debt service fund is approaching $11 million. Bogart said the district could use that money in a future fiscal year to reduce interest payments on future bond obligations. He said the district is waiting for an appropriate time to "pull that lever" so that potential future taxes could be mitigated.

The board also determined that the district has enough money to pay the first retention incentive stipend of the 2026-27 fiscal year, $500, to all eligible employees.

In the annual override and bond update required by state law, the packet reports that the district received $15,676,880 from its voter-approved override in fiscal 2025 and is budgeted to receive $16,010,932 in fiscal 2026. The money goes to full-day kindergarten, staff recruitment and retention, and salary increases. Bogart said tax collections landed within 1% of the budgeted amount. As of the meeting, $1,909,538 in 2022 bond funds remained to be encumbered, a balance Bogart said is "depleting rather rapidly." The update was for information only.

The board also approved a revised purchasing ethics policy. A board member asked whether legal counsel had approved it. Bogart said "this particular policy was not reviewed by legal."

Three positions added for special education and a growing school

The board approved three positions presented by Assistant Superintendent Kristin Reidy. The positions cost $97,883.07 a year with benefits and are paid from the maintenance and operation budget.

Adaptive cluster special education aide at Quail Run Elementary School. Reidy said the adaptive cluster program had 28 students and 15 aides last school year. After a staffing reallocation over the summer, it started this year with 32 students and 11 aides. Reidy said the position was requested after a review of student needs, including complex needs at the kindergarten level, to keep the district in compliance with students' individualized education programs.
Front office clerk at Tangerine Farms K-8, where Reidy said enrollment is approaching that of the district's other two K-8 schools. Asked for figures, Reidy said Twin Peaks enrolls 820 students, Dove Mountain 894 and Tangerine Farms 731.
Intervention specialist at the secondary Program ABLE. Reidy said a new seventh grader needing one-to-one aide support had joined the program.

Partnerships for students with disabilities

The board approved two memorandums of understanding presented by Joshua Bayne, executive director of educational services. Both had been approved by the district's legal counsel.

The first, with Child Parent Centers Inc., covers preschool-age children with disabilities enrolled in Head Start. District staff will help identify, enroll and serve eligible children, for example by providing speech and language services. Bayne said the agreement also helps Head Start meet federal requirements for serving children with disabilities. The services involve the Desert Wind campus and a building on the Marana campus.

The second, with the Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona, partners the district with the university's Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities. Through the university's pre-employment transition services project, the two will develop on- and off-campus work experiences for students with disabilities, train district staff to coach students, and build systems to keep the program going after the center's direct involvement ends.

Teachers union opposes Proposition 320

During public comment, Raina York, president of the Marana Education Association, said the union opposes Proposition 320 on the Nov. 3 ballot. The legislative referral would require larger districts, including all districts in Pima County, to spend at least 60% of operational dollars on direct instructional expenses, with penalties for districts that fall short.

York said the district covers more than 550 square miles and depends on bus drivers, counselors, nurses, special education staff and support professionals. "These are people and services that make learning possible," York said. York argued that the state could invest more money in classrooms directly instead of requiring districts to reshuffle the funds they already receive.

Also discussed:

The board approved the consent agenda, correcting a staff member's title in the Sept. 24 special meeting minutes.
Future meetings are scheduled for Nov. 12, Dec. 10 and Jan. 14.

This report was drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 from a transcript of the meeting recording produced by Deepgram Nova-2, then reviewed and edited by Nicholas De Leon with Claude Opus 5.5, and published at 7:32 PM MST on October 15, 2026. Read more about how this is made.