The Tucson Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved a $797.4 million budget earlier this month, leaning on new override funding and a fresh round of cuts as the district works to close a projected $25 million deficit by 2030.

The budget accounts for cuts approved during a February board meeting, including the elimination of regional itinerant substitute teachers and the customer support center, among other reductions.

The board also directed the Budget Advisory Committee to begin exploring school consolidations and reconfigurations for the 2027-28 school year.

The budget was reduced by $2.2 million compared to the first proposal for next year, but it's still about $132.5 million more than last year's adopted budget. That comes despite declining enrollment and the loss of state funding tied to Proposition 123, a dedicated revenue stream for K-12 public education that has since expired.

The cuts are also meant to address a 2% drop in districtwide enrollment.

"This is step one," said board member Val Romero. "This number needs to come on down. I understand the need for a lot of these other positions, but we need to be responsible with that money to get to that point."

The $797.4 million budget relies heavily on $45 million in override funding, approved by voters last year for the first time in three decades. TUSD Chief Financial Officer Ricky Hernandez said the override is not meant to fully eliminate the district's deficit and that the board will have to continue making changes.

The override comes with a direct cost to property owners. According to budget documents, the district's total property tax rate is set to rise from $5.62 to $6.38 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, an increase driven almost entirely by the new M&O override line item, which jumps from zero to $97.53 per $100,000.

Hernandez said the budget includes $391 million for maintenance and operations and $63.7 million for a balanced desegregation budget.

Board member Sadie Shaw, who has previously pushed for librarians at every district school, pushed back on the use of override funds for student interventionists in the desegregation budget.

"I think it's really unfortunate that we've moved these interventionists over to the override because this amount of money could have funded librarians," Shaw said.

The board voted to fund six more librarians for next year, in addition to the 11 currently employed across the district's 88 schools.

Despite the cuts, Hernandez made clear there is still work to be done in addressing the deficit.

"We obviously need to continue to do more," Hernandez said. "There will need to be some additional cuts that will need to happen because unless the enrollment levels out, that is still the number one factor for why we're losing."

Budget documents presented to the board show TUSD's administrative spending, which includes both central administration and school-level administration, made up 9.2% of total spending in fiscal year 2025, the lowest share among nine Tucson-area school districts and roughly in line with the state average of 8.9%.

Some residents expressed frustration with the board's communication with the community.

"Shame on the board for not demanding friendly processes that allow and support legitimate public input," resident Sylvia Campoy said in a written statement to the board.

Shaw echoed her concerns, saying the public notices were not easy to find on the district's website.

The budget will be formally adopted during the board meeting on July 14, but it is subject to revision through September as the state finalizes calculations.

Allison Kuester is a student at Northwestern University and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at allisonkuester2029@u.northwestern.edu.

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