Phoenix Union High School District, Arizona, elections

• Related content:
• Arizona
  • U.S. Congress delegation
  • State executives
  • State legislature
  • State ballot measures
  • Courts in Arizona
  • Counties in Arizona
  • Cities in Arizona
  • School districts in Arizona
• Public Policy in Arizona
  • Budget policy
  • Civil liberties policy
  • Education policy
  • Election policy
  • Energy policy
  • Environmental policy
  • Healthcare policy
  • Pension policy
• Local government
  • City government
  • Local courts
  • School boards
  • Local ballot measures
  • Local recalls
  • Local influencers
  • Local fact checks
• 2025 Elections
  • Find your sample ballot
  • Election calendar
  • Arizona elections
  • Presidential Elections
  • U.S. Congress elections
  • State executive elections
  • State legislative elections
  • State court elections
  • Statewide ballot measures
  • Municipal elections
  • Local court elections
  • School board elections
  • Local ballot measures
  • Recall elections

Phoenix Union High School District
District details
School board members: 7
Next election: November 3, 2026
Students: 26,753 (2023-2024)
Schools: 20 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Phoenix Union High School District is a school district in Arizona (Maricopa County). During the 2024 school year, 26,753 students attended one of the district's 20 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

Do you know of an individual or group that endorsed a candidate for a position on this board? Click here to let us know.

• 2025
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018
• 2016
• 2010

Phoenix Union High School District, At-large

General election

Reason canceled : Election canceled by court ruling

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Debbie Cross (Nonpartisan)
• Aden Ramirez (Nonpartisan)

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5

General election

Special general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5

Lizette Mier defeated Ricardo Serna in the special general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lizette Mier (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	43.9	892
	Submit photo	Ricardo Serna (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)	12.0	243
		Other/Write-in votes	44.1	897

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,032
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Viri Hernandez (Nonpartisan)

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 1

General election

The general election was canceled. Naketa Ross (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 2

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 2

Signa Oliver defeated Alan Aversa in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 2 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Signa Oliver (Nonpartisan)	62.7	13,054
		Alan Aversa (Nonpartisan)	37.3	7,758

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,812
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3

Incumbent Stephanie Parra defeated Charles Lucking in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephanie Parra (Nonpartisan)	63.0	22,174
		Charles Lucking (Nonpartisan)	36.3	12,762
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	248

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,184
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 4

General election

The general election was canceled. Ceyshe Napa (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5

General election

The general election was canceled. Jennifer Hernandez (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Phoenix Union High School District, At-large

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, At-large (2 seats)

Aaron Marquez and incumbent Lela Alston defeated Debbie Cross, Nedra Sheppard, and Girmar Anwar in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, At-large on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aaron Marquez (Nonpartisan)	38.4	65,198
✔		Lela Alston (Nonpartisan)	29.3	49,647
		Debbie Cross (Nonpartisan)	18.3	31,049
	Submit photo	Nedra Sheppard (Nonpartisan)	8.5	14,438
	Submit photo	Girmar Anwar (Nonpartisan)	4.8	8,101
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	1,167

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 169,600
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 1

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 1

Naketa Ross defeated incumbent Randy D. Schiller in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 1 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Naketa Ross (Nonpartisan)	63.5	13,172
		Randy D. Schiller (Nonpartisan)	36.5	7,560

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,732
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 2

General election

The general election was canceled. Stanford Prescott (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3

Incumbent Stephanie Parra defeated Katie Gipson-McLean in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephanie Parra (Nonpartisan)	61.1	20,439
		Katie Gipson-McLean (Nonpartisan)	38.9	13,021

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 33,460
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• David Pacheco (Nonpartisan)

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 4

General election

The general election was canceled. Laura Pastor (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5

Steve Gallardo defeated Maria Castro in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Gallardo (Nonpartisan)	50.9	7,518
	Submit photo	Maria Castro (Nonpartisan)	49.1	7,257

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,775
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Phoenix Union High School District, At-large

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, At-large

Incumbent Ian Danley won election in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, At-large on November 8, 2016.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Ian Danley (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 1

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 1

Incumbent Randy D. Schiller won election in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 1 on November 2, 2010.

		Candidate
✔		Randy D. Schiller (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5

General election

General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5

Incumbent Linda Abril won election in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 5 on November 2, 2010.

		Candidate
✔		Linda Abril (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Election rules

View 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.

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

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.

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

The Phoenix Union High School District consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members

Name	Seat	Year assumed office	Year term ends
Francisco Pastor-Rivera		2025	2029
Aaron Marquez		2021	2029
Jeremiah Cota	Ward 1	2025	2027
Debbie Cross	Ward 3	2024	2027
Lizette Mier	Ward 5	2024	2027
Ceyshe Napa	Ward 4	2023	2027
Signa Oliver	Ward 2	2023	2027

Join the conversation about school board politics

Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics

Email *

Please complete the Captcha above

• 
  Unlock the full dataset for your own use cases — explore subscription options to our comprehensive list of all school board members in the country.
  Read more

District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Phoenix Union High School District

Office Name	Current Officeholder	Party	% School District Covered	% Other District Covered
Arizona House of Representatives District 11	Junelle Cavero	Democratic Party	47%	76%
Arizona House of Representatives District 11	Oscar De Los Santos	Democratic Party	47%	76%
Arizona House of Representatives District 5	Aaron Marquez	Democratic Party	17%	64%
Arizona House of Representatives District 5	Sarah Liguori	Democratic Party	17%	64%
Arizona House of Representatives District 26	Quantá Crews	Democratic Party	13%	68%
Arizona House of Representatives District 26	Cesar Aguilar	Democratic Party	13%	68%
Arizona House of Representatives District 24	Lydia Hernandez	Democratic Party	7%	41%
Arizona House of Representatives District 24	Anna Abeytia	Democratic Party	7%	41%
Arizona House of Representatives District 4	Matt Gress	Republican Party	5%	9%
Arizona House of Representatives District 22	Lupe Contreras	Democratic Party	5%	9%
Arizona House of Representatives District 22	Elda Luna-Nájera	Democratic Party	5%	9%
Arizona House of Representatives District 4	Pamela Carter	Republican Party	5%	9%
Arizona House of Representatives District 8	Janeen Connolly	Democratic Party	5%	7%
Arizona House of Representatives District 8	Brian Garcia	Democratic Party	5%	7%

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.

• Revenue
• Expenditures

Revenue, 2021-2022

SOURCE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Federal:	$88,448,000	$3,171	18%
Local:	$284,734,000	$10,209	58%
State:	$118,690,000	$4,256	24%
Total:	$491,872,000	$17,636

Expenditures, 2021-2022

TYPE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Total Expenditures:	$404,957,000	$14,519
Total Current Expenditures:	$329,544,000	$11,815
Instructional Expenditures:	$170,728,000	$6,121	42%
Student and Staff Support:	$59,855,000	$2,146	15%
Administration:	$34,545,000	$1,238	9%
Operations, Food Service, Other:	$64,416,000	$2,309	16%
Total Capital Outlay:	$53,676,000	$1,924
Construction:	$32,002,000	$1,147
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other:	$870,000	$31
Interest on Debt:	$16,748,000	$600

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."

• Mathematics
• Reading/language arts
• Graduation rates

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	10	25-29	7	10	<=5	15-19	15-19
2018-2019	37	55-59	20	38	35-39	35-39	45-49
2017-2018	38	40-44	26	38	35-39	35-39	55-59
2016-2017	30	40-44	19	31	30-34		35-39
2015-2016	13	20-24	10	13	6-9		25-29
2014-2015	33	40-44	25	33	35-39		35-39
2013-2014	51	55-59	39	52	45-49		56
2012-2013	50	45-49	42	50	45-49		60
2011-2012	49	45-49	42	50	45-49		60
2010-2011	47	50-54	37	47	50-54		56

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	15	20-29	12	14	6-9	20-29	25-29
2018-2019	33	45-49	25	33	25-29	40-44	50-54
2017-2018	30	40-44	21	29	25-29	40-44	50-54
2016-2017	23	35-39	17	22	20-24		35-39
2015-2016	20	30-34	15	19	10-14		35-39
2014-2015	47	40-44	46	46	50-54		55-59
2013-2014	79	65-69	69	80	70-74		82
2012-2013	76	50-54	68	77	70-74		82
2011-2012	71	45-49	64	72	70-74		75
2010-2011	66	50-54	61	67	70-74		75

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	81	90-94	79	82	75-79	75-79	74
2018-2019	80	75-79	76	81	70-74	75-79	70-74
2017-2018	82	80-84	79	83	65-69	70-74	75-79
2016-2017	83	75-79	85	84	70-74		75-79
2015-2016	84	75-79	80	85	60-64		75-79
2014-2015	79	70-74	76	81	65-69		72
2013-2014	76	55-59	72	78	60-64		76
2012-2013	74	60-64	72	76	70-74		71
2011-2012	75	65-69	76	77	70-74		76
2010-2011	79	70-74	78	80	70-74		79

Students

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

• Enrollment
• Demographics

Year	Enrollment	Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024	26,753	-4.3
2022-2023	27,900	0.0
2021-2022	27,890	3.1
2020-2021	27,037	-2.1
2019-2020	27,603	0.1
2018-2019	27,573	1.1
2017-2018	27,268	-0.6
2016-2017	27,423	1.1
2015-2016	27,109	0.8
2014-2015	26,900	1.2
2013-2014	26,582	2.7
2012-2013	25,854	-0.1
2011-2012	25,881	3.6
2010-2011	24,949	-1.0
2009-2010	25,187	-0.5
2008-2009	25,305	-4.7
2007-2008	26,483	2.8
2006-2007	25,733	2.8
2005-2006	25,010	0.9
2004-2005	24,776	3.2
2003-2004	23,989	1.6
2002-2003	23,616	3.5
2001-2002	22,779	2.6
2000-2001	22,192	2.1
1999-2000	21,726	0.0

Racial Demographics, 2023-2024

RACE	Phoenix Union High School District (%)	Arizona K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native	2.2	4.2
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander	1.4	3.2
Black	9.6	5.8
Hispanic	81.4	48.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.3	0.4
Two or More Races	1.5	4.3
White	3.7	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.

• Teachers
• Administrators
• Other staff

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Phoenix Union High School District had 1,410.20 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 18.97.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten:	0.00
Kindergarten:	0.00
Elementary:	0.00
Secondary:	1,410.20
Total:	1,410.20

Phoenix Union High School District employed 33.00 district administrators and 78.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators:	33.00
District Administrative Support:	132.60
School Administrators:	78.00
School Administrative Support:	166.00

Other staff, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides:	235.65
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors:	35.00
Total Guidance Counselors:	94.50
Elementary Guidance Counselors:	0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors:	94.50
Librarians/Media Specialists:	15.00
Library/Media Support:	0.00
Student Support Services:	361.67
Other Support Services:	557.21

Schools

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

The Phoenix Union High School District operates 20 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

List of schools

SCHOOL NAME	NUMBER OF STUDENTS	GRADES
Alhambra High School	2,118	9-12
Betty Fairfax High School	1,923	9-12
Bostrom Alternative Center	313	9-12
Camelback High School	2,191	9-12
Carl Hayden High School	2,066	9-12
Central High School	1,758	9-12
Cesar Chavez High School	2,644	9-12
Franklin Police And Fire High School	324	9-12
Linda Abril Educational Academy	257	10-12
Maryvale High School	2,685	9-12
Metro Tech High School	1,817	9-12
North High School	1,902	9-12
Phoenix Coding Academy	236	9-12
Phoenix Digital Academy	890	9-12
Phoenix Educator Preparatory	5	9-12
Phoenix Union Bioscience High School	392	9-12
Phoenix Union-Wilson College Preparatory	201	9-12
Pxu City	57	9-12
South Mountain High School	2,171	9-12
Trevor Browne High School	2,803	9-12

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
List of school districts in Arizona Arizona school board elections, 2025 School board elections, 2025 School board recalls School board authority in Arizona	Arizona Department of Education Public education in Arizona	Municipal government Local courts Local ballot measures Recalls	Arizona Arizona elections, 2025 Arizona State Legislature Arizona state executive offices

External links

Office website

Search Google News for this topic