Paradise Valley Unified School District, Arizona, elections

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Paradise Valley Unified School District
School Board badge.png
District details
School board members: 5
Students: 27,034 (2023-2024)
Schools: 45 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Paradise Valley Unified School District is a school district in Arizona (Maricopa County). During the 2024 school year, 27,034 students attended one of the district's 45 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools School board meetings

Elections

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Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

General election

General election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Anne Greenberg
Anne Greenberg (Nonpartisan)
 
18.9
 
53,230
✔
Image of Amanda Lim
Amanda Lim (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
18.1
 
50,943
✔
Image of Jessica Wani
Jessica Wani (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
17.6
 
49,542
Image of Nichole Klootwyk
Nichole Klootwyk (Nonpartisan)
 
15.7
 
44,007
Image of Eddy Jackson
Eddy Jackson (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
15.6
 
43,936
Image of Susan Winder
Susan Winder (Nonpartisan)
 
13.8
 
38,842
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
667

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 281,167
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

General election

Special general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

Kerry Baker defeated Lisa Farr in the special general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Kerry Baker
Kerry Baker (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
51.1
 
38,665
Image of Lisa Farr
Lisa Farr (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
48.6
 
36,827
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
223

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 75,715
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

General election

General election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large (2 seats)

Sandra Christensen and Tony Pantera defeated incumbent Susan Matura, Eddy Jackson, and Sheryl Evenson in the general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sandra Christensen
Sandra Christensen (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
24.2
 
34,247
✔
Image of Tony Pantera
Tony Pantera (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
23.5
 
33,242
Image of Susan Matura
Susan Matura (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
21.1
 
29,881
Image of Eddy Jackson
Eddy Jackson (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
20.1
 
28,481
Image of Sheryl Evenson
Sheryl Evenson (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
10.7
 
15,130
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.4
 
575

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 141,556
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

General election

General election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large (3 seats)

Incumbent Anne Greenberg, incumbent Nancy Case, and Stephanie Brown defeated Lisa Farr in the general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Anne Greenberg
Anne Greenberg (Nonpartisan)
 
32.3
 
67,749
✔
Image of Nancy Case
Nancy Case (Nonpartisan)
 
31.9
 
66,979
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
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Stephanie Brown (Nonpartisan)
 
31.1
 
65,303
Image of Lisa Farr
Lisa Farr (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
2.0
 
4,284
 Other/Write-in votes
 
2.7
 
5,698

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 210,013
Candidate Connection = 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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Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

General election

General election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large (2 seats)

Incumbent Julie Bacon and Susan Matura won election in the general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Julie Bacon
Julie Bacon (Nonpartisan)
 
54.9
 
54,323
✔
Image of Susan Matura
Susan Matura (Nonpartisan)
 
45.1
 
44,611

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 98,934
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

General election

General election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

Incumbent Nancy Case, incumbent Anne Greenberg, and incumbent Sue Skidmore won election in the general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large on November 8, 2016.

Candidate
✔
Image of Nancy Case
Nancy Case (Nonpartisan)
✔
Image of Anne Greenberg
Anne Greenberg (Nonpartisan)
✔
Image of Sue Skidmore
Sue Skidmore (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

General election

General election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large

Incumbent Julie Bacon and incumbent Mark Lane won election in the general election for Paradise Valley Unified School District, At-large on November 2, 2010.

Candidate
✔
Image of Julie Bacon
Julie Bacon (Nonpartisan)
✔
Image of Mark Lane
Mark Lane (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

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.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Arizona Statute Section 15-424 & 16-211



Election system

School board members in Arizona are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Arizona Statute Section 16-211

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Arizona are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Arizona Statue Section 15-424

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected at large.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg 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.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Arizona Statute Section 15-321

 


About the district

School board

The Paradise Valley Unified School District consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Amanda Lim20252029
Jessica Wani20252029
Anne Greenberg20052029
Sandra Christensen20232027
Tony Pantera20232027

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Paradise Valley Unified School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Arizona House of Representatives District 4Pamela CarterRepublican Party 48% 47%
Arizona House of Representatives District 4Matt GressRepublican Party 48% 47%
Arizona House of Representatives District 3Joseph ChaplikRepublican Party 24% 2%
Arizona House of Representatives District 3Alexander KolodinRepublican Party 24% 2%
Arizona House of Representatives District 2Stephanie SimacekDemocratic Party 23% 29%
Arizona House of Representatives District 2Justin WilmethRepublican Party 23% 29%
Arizona House of Representatives District 5Sarah LiguoriDemocratic Party 5% 11%
Arizona House of Representatives District 5Aaron MarquezDemocratic Party 5% 11%

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]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $60,843,000 $2,145 15%
Local: $236,748,000 $8,348 58%
State: $111,739,000 $3,940 27%
Total: $409,330,000 $14,433
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $407,783,000 $14,205
Total Current Expenditures: $316,327,000 $11,019
Instructional Expenditures: $184,429,000 $6,424 45%
Student and Staff Support: $50,705,000 $1,766 12%
Administration: $24,551,000 $855 6%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $56,642,000 $1,973 14%
Total Capital Outlay: $64,411,000 $2,243
Construction: $50,270,000 $1,751
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $9,167,000 $319
Interest on Debt: $14,851,000 $517

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 39 68 14 19 15-19 48 50
2018-2019 50 72 29 33 30-34 55 60
2017-2018 52 72 28 33 30-34 56 62
2016-2017 50 69 28 32 20-24 59
2015-2016 46 68 22 29 20-24 55
2014-2015 42 63 22 25 20-24 51
2013-2014 70 82 50 54 45-49 77
2012-2013 71 84 54 54 50-54 79
2011-2012 71 86 54 54 55-59 78
2010-2011 70 87 56 51 55-59 77

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 46 73 25 28 20-24 52 56
2018-2019 53 71 35 35 25-29 59 64
2017-2018 53 66 31 32 30-34 61 64
2016-2017 51 70 32 31 30-34 62
2015-2016 49 65 28 31 25-29 59
2014-2015 45 57 25 27 25-29 55
2013-2014 85 89 75 73 70-74 91
2012-2013 85 91 75 73 75-79 91
2011-2012 84 91 74 70 70-74 90
2010-2011 84 94 76 69 75-79 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 (%)
2019-2020 87 90-94 80-84 78 60-79 85-89 92
2018-2019 89 90-94 80-84 80 80-89 90-94 93
2017-2018 88 90-94 80-84 81 60-79 90-94 91
2016-2017 88 90-94 85-89 82 60-79 92
2015-2016 88 85-89 85-89 85 60-79 90
2014-2015 89 85-89 85-89 81 40-59 92
2013-2014 88 >=95 80-84 79 60-79 91
2012-2013 85 85-89 75-79 73 60-79 90
2011-2012 88 90-94 80-84 76 >=50 92
2010-2011 88 >=95 75-79 75 60-79 92

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 27,034 -3.3
2022-2023 27,919 -2.8
2021-2022 28,707 -1.4
2020-2021 29,109 -6.5
2019-2020 30,999 -0.3
2018-2019 31,105 -0.7
2017-2018 31,315 -1.9
2016-2017 31,905 -1.3
2015-2016 32,316 -0.5
2014-2015 32,491 0.1
2013-2014 32,464 -1.4
2012-2013 32,919 -0.3
2011-2012 33,017 0.0
2010-2011 33,017 -0.4
2009-2010 33,146 -2.4
2008-2009 33,942 -0.5
2007-2008 34,114 -1.6
2006-2007 34,648 -0.3
2005-2006 34,763 -1.3
2004-2005 35,202 0.9
2003-2004 34,884 -0.5
2002-2003 35,073 -1.1
2001-2002 35,451 1.6
2000-2001 34,882 0.7
1999-2000 34,625 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Paradise Valley Unified School District (%) Arizona K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 1.2 4.2
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 4.1 3.2
Black 4.0 5.8
Hispanic 33.9 48.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.4
Two or More Races 5.3 4.3
White 51.3 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, Paradise Valley Unified School District had 1,748.33 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 15.46.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 27.00
Kindergarten: 80.00
Elementary: 1,173.52
Secondary: 467.81
Total: 1,748.33

Paradise Valley Unified School District employed 27.00 district administrators and 66.16 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 27.00
District Administrative Support: 119.10
School Administrators: 66.16
School Administrative Support: 170.95
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 449.02
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 26.30
Total Guidance Counselors: 44.80
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 18.80
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 26.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 10.50
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 334.55
Other Support Services: 306.59

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]

The Paradise Valley Unified School District operates 45 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Boulder Creek Elementary School587PK-6
Cactus View Elementary School528PK-6
Campo Bello Elementary School612PK-6
Cholla Complex0PK-PK
Copper Canyon Elementary School422PK-6
Desert Cove Elementary School385PK-6
Desert Shadows Elementary School479PK-6
Desert Shadows Middle School7346-8
Desert Springs Preparatory Elementary School354PK-6
Desert Trails Elementary School650PK-7
Eagle Ridge Elementary School366PK-6
Echo Mountain Intermediate School3454-6
Echo Mountain Primary School499PK-3
Explorer Middle School6417-8
Fireside Elementary School689PK-6
Grayhawk Elementary School380PK-6
Greenway Middle School4117-8
Hidden Hills Elementary School297PK-6
Horizon High School1,8637-12
Indian Bend Elementary School572PK-6
Larkspur Elementary School320PK-6
Liberty Elementary School343PK-6
Mercury Mine Elementary School493PK-6
Mountain Trail Middle School7197-8
North Canyon High School1,7428-12
North Ranch Elementary School479PK-6
Palomino Intermediate School3894-6
Palomino Primary School590PK-3
Paradise Valley High School1,8867-12
Pinnacle High School2,5017-12
Pinnacle Peak Preparatory457PK-8
Pvonline143KG-12
Quail Run Elementary School509PK-6
Roadrunner School274PK-12
Sandpiper Elementary School441PK-6
Shadow Mountain High School1,1488-12
Shea Middle School4815-8
Sky Crossing Elementary School561PK-6
Sonoran Sky Elementary School515KG-6
Sunrise Middle School3877-8
Sunset Canyon School326PK-6
Sweetwater Community School175KG-12
Vista Verde Middle School4507-8
Whispering Wind Academy448PK-6
Wildfire Elementary School443PK-6

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.

School board meeting articles (click to collapse)

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

  • Office website
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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ 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
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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