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Deer Valley Unified School District, Arizona

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Deer Valley Unified School District
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Phoenix, Arizona
District details
Superintendent: Curtis Finch
# of school board members: 5
Website: Link

Deer Valley Unified School District is a school district in Arizona.

Click on the links below to learn more about the school district’s…

Superintendent

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 		This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

Curtis Finch is the superintendent of the Deer Valley Unified School District. Finch was appointed superintendent in July 2017. Finch's previous career experience includes working as the superintendent of the Mecosta-Osceola Independent School District and Reese Public Schools in Michigan.[1]

Past superintendents

School board

The Deer Valley Unified School District Governing Board consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Board members are elected at large.[3]

Elections

See also: Deer Valley Unified School District, Arizona, elections

Board members are elected on a staggered basis in even-numbered years.

Two of the five seats on the Deer Valley Unified School District school board in Arizona are up for general election on November 3, 2026. The filing deadline for this election is July 6, 2026.

Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.


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Public participation in board meetings

The Deer Valley Unified School District Governing Board maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[4]


District map

School district map

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $48,413,000 $1,495 13%
Local: $188,048,000 $5,807 49%
State: $148,429,000 $4,584 39%
Total: $384,890,000 $11,886
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $362,712,000 $10,874
Total Current Expenditures: $309,610,000 $9,282
Instructional Expenditures: $186,309,000 $5,585 51%
Student and Staff Support: $36,279,000 $1,087 10%
Administration: $29,779,000 $892 8%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $57,243,000 $1,716 16%
Total Capital Outlay: $45,289,000 $1,357
Construction: $23,364,000 $700
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $0 $0
Interest on Debt: $7,813,000 $234


Teacher salaries

The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.

Year Minimum Maximum
2024-2025[6] $51,000 None
2023-2024[7] $50,450 None
2020-2021[8] $41,500 None

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[9]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2021-2022 52 71 29 37 25-29 49 58
2020-2021 50 68 25 35 25-29 49 56
2018-2019 59 73 35 46 40-44 58 64
2017-2018 60 71 34 46 40-44 60 64
2016-2017 57 71 35 44 30-34 60
2015-2016 51 66 30 38 30-34 55
2014-2015 47 66 26 34 25-29 51
2013-2014 75 85 56 65 55-59 78
2012-2013 75 85 55 64 55-59 78
2011-2012 73 83 53 61 50-54 76
2010-2011 72 84 57 57 50-54 75

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2021-2022 56 70 39 42 30-34 56 61
2020-2021 55 68 33 41 30-34 56 60
2018-2019 61 72 42 49 35-39 60 66
2017-2018 60 67 39 46 40-44 60 65
2016-2017 57 65 37 44 35-39 61
2015-2016 54 64 34 42 35-39 57
2014-2015 48 61 29 34 25-29 52
2013-2014 89 92 80 83 80-84 91
2012-2013 89 90 79 83 75-79 91
2011-2012 87 91 79 80 70-74 89
2010-2011 87 92 83 77 70-74 90

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2021-2022 95 >=95 85-89 92 >=80 >=95 96
2020-2021 94 >=95 85-89 90 60-79 90-94 95
2019-2020 94 >=95 85-89 92 60-79 90-94 94
2018-2019 95 >=95 90-94 90 >=80 >=95 96
2017-2018 95 >=95 90-94 96 >=80 90-94 95
2016-2017 94 >=95 85-89 95 >=80 94
2015-2016 95 >=95 >=95 92 >=80 96
2014-2015 94 >=95 90-94 92 >=80 94
2013-2014 92 >=95 85-89 89 >=80 93
2012-2013 91 90-94 85-89 88 >=50 91
2011-2012 91 90-94 85-89 85 >=80 92
2010-2011 91 90-94 80-89 87 60-79 92


Students

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 32,837 -1.1
2022-2023 33,199 -0.5
2021-2022 33,353 3.9
2020-2021 32,061 -8.1
2019-2020 34,645 0.3
2018-2019 34,544 4.0
2017-2018 33,152 -2.3
2016-2017 33,907 -0.7
2015-2016 34,153 1.1
2014-2015 33,793 1.2
2013-2014 33,395 -1.9
2012-2013 34,028 -1.9
2011-2012 34,662 -1.5
2010-2011 35,190 -3.0
2009-2010 36,241 -1.7
2008-2009 36,870 0.0
2007-2008 36,875 2.2
2006-2007 36,059 3.5
2005-2006 34,802 4.3
2004-2005 33,318 4.9
2003-2004 31,691 5.2
2002-2003 30,049 4.6
2001-2002 28,678 5.3
2000-2001 27,158 6.2
1999-2000 25,467 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Deer Valley Unified School District (%) Arizona K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.1 4.2
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 5.2 3.2
Black 3.5 5.8
Hispanic 22.9 48.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.3 0.4
Two or More Races 5.6 4.3
White 61.4 33.9

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Staff

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Deer Valley Unified School District had 1,927.24 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 17.04.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 33.00
Kindergarten: 90.00
Elementary: 1,270.17
Secondary: 534.07
Total: 1,927.24

Deer Valley Unified School District employed 28.00 district administrators and 74.50 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 28.00
District Administrative Support: 154.45
School Administrators: 74.50
School Administrative Support: 91.66
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 441.40
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 14.90
Total Guidance Counselors: 52.10
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 26.30
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 25.80
Librarians/Media Specialists: 5.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 452.77
Other Support Services: 389.81


Schools

The Deer Valley Unified School District operates 41 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Anthem School426PK-8
Arrowhead Elementary School558PK-6
Aspire Deer Valley'S Online Academy224KG-12
Barry Goldwater High School1,5977-12
Boulder Creek High School2,2977-12
Canyon Springs Stem Academy787PK-8
Constitution Elementary School597PK-6
Copper Creek Elementary School716PK-6
Deer Valley High School1,6967-12
Deer Valley Middle School4967-8
Desert Mountain School425PK-8
Desert Sage Elementary School579PK-6
Desert Sky Middle School6477-8
Diamond Canyon School737PK-8
Esperanza Elementary School493PK-6
Gavilan Peak School533PK-8
Greenbrier Elementary School484PK-6
Highland Lakes School1,065PK-8
Hillcrest Middle School8537-8
Inspiration Mountain School671PK-8
Las Brisas Elementary School478PK-6
Legend Springs Elementary683PK-6
Mirage Elementary School520PK-6
Mountain Ridge High School2,7877-12
Mountain Shadows Elementary School421PK-6
New River Elementary School172PK-6
Norterra Canyon School595PK-8
Park Meadows Elementary School544PK-6
Paseo Hills School772PK-8
Sandra Day O'Connor High School2,5977-12
Sierra Verde Steam Academy964PK-8
Sonoran Foothills School935PK-8
Stetson Hills School938PK-8
Sunrise Elementary School467PK-6
Sunset Ridge School590PK-8
Terramar Academy Of The Arts963PK-8
Traditional Academy At Bellair215PK-6
Union Park School788PK-8
Village Meadows Elementary School440PK-6
Vista Peak69PK-12
West Wing School1,018PK-8

Contact information

Deer Valley Unified School District logo 2.png
Deer Valley Unified School District
20402 N. 15th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
Phone: 623-445-5000


About school boards

Education legislation in Arizona

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

Arizona School Board Elections News and Analysis
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LinkedIn, "Curtis Finch," accessed November 5, 2019
  2. ↑ Glendale Star, "DVUSD names Veitenheimer superintendent," April 4, 2012
  3. ↑ Deer Valley Unified School District, "DVUSD Governing Board," accessed March 17, 2021
  4. ↑ Arizona School Boards Association, "Deer Valley Unified School District No. 97 Public Participation at Board Meetings," accessed January 19, 2024
  5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
  6. ↑ Deer Valley Unified School District, "Certified Hiring Guidelines & Salary 2024-2025," accessed April 23, 2025
  7. ↑ Deer Valley Unified School District, "Certified Hiring Guidelines & Salary 2023-2024," accessed February 2, 2024
  8. ↑ Deer Valley Unified School District, "Certified Hiring Guidelines & Salary," accessed May 19, 2021
  9. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
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