Federal and state education funding for Tucson’s neighborhood schools continues to be cut, and this year nearly $1 billion is being taken away from Arizona public schools and put into private schools run by corporations. A YES vote on Prop 414 restores crucial funding for Tucson’s schools which the politicians in DC and Phoenix can’t touch, supporting schools by raising teacher salaries to attract and retain high quality educators, maintaining career-focused programs, fully staffing PE and Fine arts at all elementary schools, and expand early childhood education like pre-k as well as before- and after-school programs.

Prop 414, the TUSD override measure, will raise $45 million to support our local schools:

• Raising Teacher Salaries: Funds raised by this override will increase teacher salaries, making sure our students can learn, graduate, and are prepared with the skills they need to get a job or go to college.

• Electives, Specials & Career Focused Education: Override funds would maintain and expand specialized classes - like art and physical education in elementary schools and automotive and construction technology classes in high school. 

• Counselors & Social Workers: Prop 414 will ensure schools have counselors and social workers to help students with behavioral problems and provide at-risk students with alternative education programs.

• Expanded Early Childhood Education: Prop 414 will support early childhood education and before- and afterschool programs that put young children on the pathway to learn and succeed.

This override is expected to cost the average homeowner approximately $17 a month.

As Phoenix politicians continue to underfund local public schools, overrides like this are critical in allowing the district to meet students’ educational needs. Your support restores critical funding for high quality educators and excellent schools that politicians in DC and Phoenix can’t touch.

Better schools not only provide better lives for students and families - they raise property values, improve our workforce, and strengthen the local economy. By voting yes on the Tucson Unified School District override measure, you can help create a brighter future for our city.

Because of funding cuts from the state and federal government, without this override measure to fill in the gaps, the Tucson Unified School District will likely be required to cut programs for students and not be able to offer competitive salaries required to retain and recruit great teachers and staff.

This measure is completely different and separate from the Prop 414 that City of Tucson residents voted on in March 2025. This measure was called for by the Tucson Unified School District and supports our local schools. This is not a sales tax increase and does not support City of Tucson services, as the previous Prop 414 proposed to do. Due to a quirk in the numbering of proposition measures by Pima County, both of these measures were assigned the same number, despite being completely separate and different elections.

Funds raised by the override are subject to strict accountability requirements to prevent wasteful spending. This measure requires independent audits and public expenditure reports so we can make sure school officials are accountable, keeping their promises, and using our tax dollars effectively.

Using tax dollars as efficiently as possible is a top priority for TUSD. TUSD already has one of the lowest costs for administrative overhead of the 17 school districts in Pima County, so more money goes directly into the classroom.

The detailed proposal for how override funds are spent can be found on the District’s website.

The override measure will be on the ballot this year for the November 4th election. This is an all-mail election and ballots will be mailed to voters on October 8th. To check the status of your ballot, visit https://www.recorder.pima.gov/BallotInfo