Sahuarita Unified approves annual financial report showing enrollment dip, special education cost growth

Sahuarita Unified approves annual financial report showing enrollment dip, special education cost growth

SAHUARITA, Ariz. — The Sahuarita Unified School District Governing Board on Wednesday, Oct. 14, approved the district's 2025-26 Annual Financial Report, which showed average daily membership down about 125 students from the prior year and maintenance and operation spending up 1%, with special education the largest driver of the increase.

The board also approved a $682,014 guaranteed maximum price for the second phase of a project to convert space at Sahuarita Primary School into a self-contained kitchen and dining area. All five board members were present, and President John Sparks presided. Each item passed on a voice vote with no audible opposition.

Financial report

The report, which includes the School Level Report, is due to the state by Oct. 15 each year and covers the fiscal year that has closed. Chief Financial Officer Lizette Huie said state law now requires the School Level Report to be listed separately, although it has always been part of the annual report.

Huie said maintenance and operation spending, the district's main expenditure budget, totaled $49,955,640 in fiscal 2026. That is about $508,000, or 1%, more than the prior year's $49,447,159, according to the district's 2024-25 financial report summary, and includes raises the board approved. Huie said most of the increase came from special education.

Huie said both the number of special education students and the cost of educating them continue to rise, and that state funding does not cover what the district spends.

Purchased services, including contracted employees and substitutes, were lower than the prior year. Supplies spending was slightly higher.

Capital spending under District Additional Assistance rose sharply in furniture and equipment. Huie attributed much of the jump to new school buses, which she said cost about $285,000 each and take about a year to build. She said one capital line rose from $3,715,767 in 2025 to $5,651,960. She tied that line to a delayed, planned renovation of the district auditorium, including new lighting and wall retexturing. Principal and interest payments also rose slightly as the district pays down bond debt. Huie said capital spending remained under budget.

On enrollment, Huie said the district budgeted for the lower student count and that enrollment has been "very steady" so far this fiscal year. She said the district has "right sized" its spending.

Other figures in the report:

• 196,710 district-wide financial transactions
• 4,568 purchase orders
• 132,555 payroll transactions
• 703,434 meals and snacks served
• A 1.76-percentage-point drop in the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals

Huie said state funding allowed students who qualify for reduced-price meals to eat free, and that the arrangement has been extended into 2027.

District buses cover a 106-square-mile area and travel about 2,871 miles a day. Huie said all but one bus now has air conditioning, and the one without it runs the shortest route.

Superintendent Manuel O. Valenzuela called the district's budget "strong, it's steady, it's secure." He said the district has made reductions and efficiencies without compromising new programs. He also said the district tries to keep tax rates steady.

Sparks said that in his 12 years on the board the district has had no layoffs and teachers have received a raise every year. He contrasted that with districts elsewhere in the state that he said are struggling. A board member credited staff for the work that goes into audits, calling it "a Herculean effort."

Sahuarita Primary School kitchen

The $682,014 guaranteed maximum price covers a renovation of an area just north of the gymnasium at Sahuarita Primary School. Valenzuela said the space once held a self-contained cafeteria. It will be rebuilt as a warming kitchen where food can be prepared and served on site.

Valenzuela said the project will spare the youngest students the walk to the main cafeteria. He said it will also give the intermediate and middle schools more flexibility in building their schedules.

He said construction is ready to begin, with completion planned for late spring. The project is funded by the district's bond. Valenzuela credited district staff's work with the contractor on planning and design. He also cited supply-chain and materials costs as complications.

Policy updates tabled at first read

The board tabled two sets of policy advisories after their first reading:

• Advisories 917 through 958 (Volume 37, Number 9)
• Advisory 960 on audits and financial monitoring (Volume 38, Number 1)

The first set rewrites a large share of the district's support services and facilities policies. According to the agenda, new policies and regulations cover hazardous materials, student transportation, and pricing of and payment for food services. A new regulation on emergency response plans and school closings replaces the deleted policy on weather-related and emergency closings. Policies on free and reduced-price meals, vending machines and student transportation in private vehicles would be deleted.

Valenzuela said the many additions and deletions reflect an overdue effort by the Arizona School Boards Association to modernize and streamline the policies.

Online school update

Staff from Sahuarita Digital Pathways Academy, the district's fully online, accredited K-12 school, said it enrolls students from across the state. The school is voluntarily taking part in the Arizona Department of Education's Project Momentum school improvement program.

The academy's offices are moving into the renovated and expanded Accelerated Learning Center near the Walden Grove High School football field. The target for the move is early November.

Middle and high school students at the academy may play sports at their school of residence, a staff member said.

Also discussed:

• The board approved the consent agenda in a single motion. It included personnel changes, volunteers and donations. It also approved a Decision Point/Bible Club at Sahuarita Middle School and overnight travel for 43 Sahuarita High School students to a jazz band and orchestra festival in Anaheim, California, April 15-18, 2027.
• Valenzuela said construction of the Sahuarita Performing Arts Center at Walden Grove is progressing, with walls going up.
• The board's next meeting is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at Sopori Elementary School, 5000 W. Arivaca Rd., Amado.

This report was drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 from a live transcript produced by Deepgram Nova-2, then reviewed and edited by Nicholas De Leon with Claude Opus 5.5, and published at 7:50 PM MST on October 14, 2026. Read more about how this is made.