← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Arizona
No endorsement
The race
Deer Valley Unified School District voters elect two members to four-year terms on November 3, 2026. Vote for up to two. Four candidates are running, including one incumbent.
The certified roster is: Paul Carver (incumbent), Julie Stockwell, David Alvarado, and Kristi Cooper.
The candidates
Paul Carver (incumbent). Carver is the incumbent board president and is also on the ballot as one of two Republican candidates for the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 2, per the Superintendent's inventory notes and The Arizona Republic's reporting. A former district student, he holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and serves his community through his church and legislative district, as reported by The Arizona Republic. He says he wants to bring a fresh perspective from management experience and to strengthen the district as a place where families enrich their children's minds.
Pros: Sitting board president with management credentials and deep district ties. Cons: He is simultaneously asking voters for a seat in the Legislature — voters should ask which job gets his full term; no specific board votes were sourced in this pass.
Julie Stockwell. Stockwell describes herself as a 40-year educator and 45-year Deer Valley resident, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She says she is running to ensure every student has access to excellent teachers, robust support services and the resources they need, and that the board needs leadership that understands the classroom, values community input and plans strategically.
Pros: Four decades in education and nearly five decades in the community. Cons: A career in the system is experience, not a governing platform; no specifics on budgets or policy were sourced in this pass.
David Alvarado. Alvarado says he has devoted more than 40 years to education, as reported by The Arizona Republic. He says schools belong to the entire community and must focus on teaching core subjects and critical thinking, that public education requires accountability, and that the district must recognize excellent teachers, manage taxpayer dollars responsibly and listen to parents.
Pros: A stated platform in our language — core subjects, critical thinking, accountability, responsible taxpayer dollars, listening to parents — atop 40 years in education. Cons: Platform statements are all that is sourced; no governing record to verify them against.
Kristi Cooper. Cooper is the daughter of a district administrator and teacher and has herself worked more than three decades as a district teacher, as reported by The Arizona Republic. She says she understands declining enrollment and wants to collaborate on student safety, crowded classrooms and disruptive students; she says poor financial decisions in the district cannot continue because students pay the price, believes in investing in students, and opposes increasing class sizes.
Pros: Thirty-plus years teaching in this district and a stated willingness to name its financial decisions as a problem. Cons: No governing record; her spending critique comes without sourced specifics in this pass.
OUR CALL
Our call: insufficient record — no endorsement. What would earn one here: a sourced voting record from Carver's term as board president, or a published platform with measurable specifics from any challenger. Alvarado's and Cooper's stated priorities point the right direction; direction is not yet a record.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Maricopa County School Superintendent — "November 3, 2026 School District Governing Board Certified and Write-In Candidates (as of 8/25/26)" — the certified roster for this race (county grade) — https://schoolsup.org/s/2026-Certified-Write-In-Candidates-082526.pdf
- The Arizona Republic / azcentral, "Who's running for metro Phoenix school boards in the midterm election?" (Oct. 2, 2026) — candidate backgrounds, occupations and stated priorities as reported — https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/02/metro-phoenix-school-board-candidates-midterm-2026-election/91830892007/
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.