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Our call — vote YES
The measure
The Balsz Elementary School District (Maricopa County) asks voters on November 3, 2026 to continue its District Additional Assistance (DAA) budget override: the lesser of $1,400,000 or 10% of the district's revenue control limit, for capital purposes, for fiscal year 2027/2028 and six fiscal years thereafter — seven years in all.
What YES does
A YES vote continues the existing DAA override. Per the district's pamphlet, voters previously approved this override, most recently in 2020, and "this measure continues the existing override and does not establish a new tax." The pamphlet states the money funds technology — student computers, software licenses, digital and print curriculum materials — preventive maintenance, and transportation infrastructure, with approximately 95% for instructional technology, maintenance, and transportation infrastructure and approximately 5% to replace non-instructional computers.
What NO does
A NO vote ends the continuation. The district loses the override's capital funding — the pamphlet states its capital budget does not provide sufficient funding to continue these technology investments and maintain curriculum resources without it — and the override levy falls away.
The math
The cap is the lesser of $1,400,000 or 10% of the revenue control limit. The estimated first-year tax rate is $0.3339 per $100 of net assessed valuation, per the district's official 2026 election notice. Same override, same structure, seven-year term — a continuation at the existing authorization, not an increase.
OUR CALL
Our call: YES.
The pamphlet says plainly what this is — a continuation that does not establish a new tax — prints the cap, the rate, the term, and where the money goes. Technology, curriculum materials, maintenance, and transportation are core capital needs, documented in the article above. Renew it.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
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Sources
- Balsz Elementary informational pamphlet (Maricopa County School Superintendent) — continuation language, purposes, and $1,400,000 first-year program list — https://schoolsup.org/s/BalszESD2026.pdf
- Balsz Elementary School District — 2026 Election Notices (official district notice) — estimated first-year tax rate $0.3339 per $100 net assessed valuation — https://www.balsz.org/departments/business-home/2024-election-notices
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.