Mesa Public Schools, Arizona, elections
| Mesa Public Schools |
|---|
 |
| District details |
| School board members: 5 |
| Students: 57,204 (2023-2024) |
| Schools: 85 (2023-2024) |
| Website: Link |
Mesa Public Schools is a school district in Arizona (Maricopa County). During the 2024 school year, 57,204 students attended one of the district's 85 schools.
This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.
Elections
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Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large
General election
General election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large (3 seats)
Sharon Benson, incumbent Courtney Davis, and Lacy Halm Chaffee defeated Josh Chilton and Ed Steele in the general election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sharon Benson (Nonpartisan)  | 21.2 | 86,393 | |
| ✔ |  | Courtney Davis (Nonpartisan) | 21.1 | 85,863 |
| ✔ |  | Lacy Halm Chaffee (Nonpartisan) | 20.2 | 82,377 |
 | Josh Chilton (Nonpartisan) | 19.1 | 77,783 | |
 | Ed Steele (Nonpartisan) | 18.1 | 73,499 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 1,235 | ||
| Total votes: 407,150 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Danny Zachary (Nonpartisan)
Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large
General election
General election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large (2 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Marcie Hutchinson (Nonpartisan) | 24.0 | 51,623 |
| ✔ |  | Rachel Walden (Nonpartisan) | 22.0 | 47,439 |
 | Jacob Martinez (Nonpartisan) | 15.7 | 33,881 | |
| Ed Steele (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 31,837 | |
| JR Wright (Nonpartisan) | 9.0 | 19,481 | ||
| Chris Hamlet (Nonpartisan) | 7.9 | 16,997 | ||
| Ray Deer (Nonpartisan) | 6.4 | 13,685 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 541 | ||
| Total votes: 215,484 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large
General election
General election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Lara Salmon Ellingson (Nonpartisan) | 18.8 | 77,014 | |
| ✔ |  | Kiana Sears (Nonpartisan) | 18.2 | 74,830 |
| ✔ | Joe O'Reilly (Nonpartisan) | 17.2 | 70,788 | |
| Cara Schnepf Steiner (Nonpartisan) | 16.8 | 68,914 | ||
| Vikki Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 14.3 | 58,864 | ||
 | Rich Crandall (Nonpartisan) | 14.3 | 58,618 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 1,594 | ||
| Total votes: 410,622 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large
General election
General election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large (2 seats)
Incumbent Jenny Richardson and Marcie Hutchinson defeated incumbent Ben Smith and Rhonda Levenda in the general election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jenny Richardson (Nonpartisan) | 29.1 | 55,613 |
| ✔ | | Marcie Hutchinson (Nonpartisan) | 26.1 | 49,986 |
 | Ben Smith (Nonpartisan) | 23.4 | 44,734 | |
 | Rhonda Levenda (Nonpartisan) | 21.5 | 41,057 | |
| Total votes: 191,390 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large
General election
General election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large
Incumbent Jenny Richardson and incumbent Ben Smith won election in the general election for Mesa Public Schools Governing Board At-large on November 4, 2014.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Jenny Richardson (Nonpartisan) |
| ✔ | | Ben Smith (Nonpartisan) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Election rules
Election dates and frequency
School board general elections in Arizona are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Arizona Statute Section 15-424 & 16-211
Election system
School board members in Arizona are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.
See law: Arizona Statute Section 16-211
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Arizona are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates.
See law:
Arizona Statutes Section 15-422 and Section 16-502
Winning an election
School board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the general election are elected to office.
See law: Arizona Statute Section 15-424
Term length and staggering
School board members in Arizona have four-year terms. Certain school board members have initial two-year terms when a new district is formed or when a district is changing the number of board members in order to establish a staggered election schedule.
See law: Arizona Statute Section 15-424
As close to half of school board members as possible are elected every two years. Upon the formation of a new district, all board members are elected at one election and the initial terms of the two winning candidates receiving lower numbers of votes are shortened to two years to achieve staggering.
See law: Arizona Statue Section 15-424
Representation: at large vs. by sub-district
School board members are elected at large.
See law: Arizona Statute Section 15-427 & 15-429
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
The school board candidate filing deadline in Arizona is 120 days before the election date.
See law: Arizona Statue Section 16-311
School board candidates can circulate their nomination petitions starting when the filling window opens 150 days before the election, which is 30 days before the filing deadline.
See law: Arizona Statue Section 16-311
Newly elected school board members officially take office at the first organizational meeting of the school board, which must be held between the first and 15th day of January following the general election.
See law: Arizona Statute Section 15-321
About the district
School board
Mesa Public Schools consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.
| Name | Seat | Year assumed office | Year term ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Benson | At-large | 2025 | 2029 |
| Lacy Halm Chaffee | At-large | 2025 | 2029 |
| Courtney Davis | At-large | 2023 | 2029 |
| Rachel Walden | At-large | 2023 | 2026 |
| Marcie Hutchinson | At-large | 2019 | 2026 |
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District map
Overlapping state house districts
The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]
| SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal: | $135,595,000 | $2,360 | 18% |
| Local: | $280,021,000 | $4,874 | 37% |
| State: | $333,211,000 | $5,800 | 44% |
| Total: | $748,827,000 | $13,035 |
| TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenditures: | $790,837,000 | $13,436 | |
| Total Current Expenditures: | $641,080,000 | $10,891 | |
| Instructional Expenditures: | $361,939,000 | $6,149 | 46% |
| Student and Staff Support: | $102,049,000 | $1,733 | 13% |
| Administration: | $50,797,000 | $863 | 6% |
| Operations, Food Service, Other: | $126,295,000 | $2,145 | 16% |
| Total Capital Outlay: | $130,677,000 | $2,220 | |
| Construction: | $90,490,000 | $1,537 | |
| Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $7,151,000 | $121 | |
| Interest on Debt: | $11,641,000 | $197 |
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. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]
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 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 32 | 38 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 34 | 49 |
| 2018-2019 | 46 | 60 | 27 | 33 | 29 | 47 | 64 |
| 2017-2018 | 47 | 59 | 29 | 34 | 29 | 52 | 63 |
| 2016-2017 | 46 | 60 | 28 | 33 | 28 | 61 | |
| 2015-2016 | 41 | 55 | 24 | 28 | 24 | 56 | |
| 2014-2015 | 40 | 52 | 24 | 27 | 22 | 54 | |
| 2013-2014 | 66 | 79 | 50 | 54 | 47 | 78 | |
| 2012-2013 | 67 | 81 | 54 | 56 | 50 | 79 | |
| 2011-2012 | 67 | 79 | 54 | 56 | 47 | 79 | |
| 2010-2011 | 67 | 81 | 53 | 56 | 49 | 78 |
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 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 37 | 43 | 23 | 24 | 15 | 43 | 53 |
| 2018-2019 | 46 | 53 | 30 | 33 | 27 | 52 | 62 |
| 2017-2018 | 43 | 55 | 27 | 30 | 23 | 49 | 60 |
| 2016-2017 | 42 | 54 | 27 | 29 | 23 | 57 | |
| 2015-2016 | 39 | 52 | 26 | 26 | 20 | 54 | |
| 2014-2015 | 35 | 49 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 49 | |
| 2013-2014 | 81 | 87 | 75 | 73 | 66 | 89 | |
| 2012-2013 | 81 | 88 | 73 | 73 | 67 | 89 | |
| 2011-2012 | 80 | 85 | 73 | 71 | 64 | 89 | |
| 2010-2011 | 80 | 87 | 73 | 72 | 66 | 89 |
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 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | 78 | 85-89 | 65-69 | 72 | 70-74 | 65-69 | 84 |
| 2018-2019 | 82 | 85-89 | 70-74 | 78 | 70-74 | 80-84 | 87 |
| 2017-2018 | 79 | 80-84 | 75-79 | 74 | 70-74 | 75-79 | 85 |
| 2016-2017 | 75 | 75-79 | 70-74 | 69 | 60-64 | 82 | |
| 2015-2016 | 79 | 80-84 | 70-74 | 75 | 65-69 | 84 | |
| 2014-2015 | 76 | 85-89 | 70-74 | 70 | 55-59 | 82 | |
| 2013-2014 | 76 | 75-79 | 65-69 | 70 | 60-64 | 81 | |
| 2012-2013 | 74 | 80-84 | 65-69 | 67 | 60-64 | 80 | |
| 2011-2012 | 75 | 80-84 | 65-69 | 65 | 65-69 | 81 | |
| 2010-2011 | 76 | 80-84 | 60-64 | 67 | 60-64 | 83 |
Students
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]
| Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 57,204 | -2.0 |
| 2022-2023 | 58,343 | -0.9 |
| 2021-2022 | 58,859 | 1.5 |
| 2020-2021 | 57,956 | -8.2 |
| 2019-2020 | 62,703 | -0.7 |
| 2018-2019 | 63,124 | 0.2 |
| 2017-2018 | 62,975 | -0.7 |
| 2016-2017 | 63,444 | -1.5 |
| 2015-2016 | 64,367 | 0.8 |
| 2014-2015 | 63,849 | -0.5 |
| 2013-2014 | 64,161 | 0.0 |
| 2012-2013 | 64,161 | -0.9 |
| 2011-2012 | 64,728 | -0.6 |
| 2010-2011 | 65,123 | -3.6 |
| 2009-2010 | 67,471 | -4.3 |
| 2008-2009 | 70,346 | -3.8 |
| 2007-2008 | 73,044 | -1.5 |
| 2006-2007 | 74,128 | -0.7 |
| 2005-2006 | 74,626 | -1.1 |
| 2004-2005 | 75,471 | 0.1 |
| 2003-2004 | 75,401 | 0.2 |
| 2002-2003 | 75,269 | 0.6 |
| 2001-2002 | 74,808 | 1.6 |
| 2000-2001 | 73,587 | 2.3 |
| 1999-2000 | 71,894 | 0.0 |
| RACE | Mesa Public Schools (%) | Arizona K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.0 | 3.2 |
| Black | 4.6 | 5.8 |
| Hispanic | 47.2 | 48.2 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Two or More Races | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| White | 38.2 | 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
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]
As of the 2023-2024 school year, Mesa Public Schools had 3,282.88 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 17.42.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten: | 60.50 |
| Kindergarten: | 173.00 |
| Elementary: | 1,667.24 |
| Secondary: | 1,382.14 |
| Total: | 3,282.88 |
Mesa Public Schools employed 81.07 district administrators and 141.04 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
|---|---|
| District Administrators: | 81.07 |
| District Administrative Support: | 263.24 |
| School Administrators: | 141.04 |
| School Administrative Support: | 314.04 |
| TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
|---|---|
| Instructional Aides: | 1,071.77 |
| Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 151.70 |
| Total Guidance Counselors: | 155.45 |
| Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 76.68 |
| Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 78.77 |
| Librarians/Media Specialists: | 77.73 |
| Library/Media Support: | 1.00 |
| Student Support Services: | 1,072.47 |
| Other Support Services: | 896.99 |
Schools
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]
School board meetings
The following articles were produced by Citizen Portal using artificial intelligence to analyze public meetings. Citizen Portal publishes articles based on the availability of meeting broadcasts, so the number of articles provided may vary by district. Although these articles are not produced or edited by Ballotpedia, they are included here as a supplemental resource for readers.
About school boards
Education legislation in Arizona
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
| School Boards | Education Policy | Local Politics | Arizona |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ 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
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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