This is a developing story.
Bright blue text on hundreds of white rectangles across Tucson point to Pilar Acosta Ruiz, the Tucson Unified School District board candidate who will likely take a seat alongside four current members come January.
In the race for two spots on the governing board, incumbent Val Romero is trailing Acosta Ruiz, who was campaigning for a seat alongside him.
Incumbent and former South Tucson mayor Jennifer Eckstrom is set to take on her second term, with a lead of more than 20,000 votes over the other candidates.
The current board is set to hear public comments in two weeks on eight proposals to close district schools starting next school year. In December, they’ll vote on those recommendations which superintendent Gabriel Trujillo has presented for the last several weeks.
Six elementary schools and two middle schools have been recommended for closures. TUSD Spokesperson Karla Escamilla says she’ll release one more announcement on Wednesday.
During a candidate forum in September, Acosta Ruiz said she would consider enrollment, proximity to other schools and neighborhood demographics in future school closure plans. Her priorities include school safety and increasing instructional spending, according to her website and statement of interest.
Acosta Ruiz is a TUSD graduate and the mother of graduates.
Trujillo has said newcomers to the board will have to prepare to see the closures through if they’re approved.
Tre’ Davon Rhodes was the youngest candidate running for any school board in Pima County. At just 20 years old, he had garnered endorsements from city council members Kevin Dahl and Miranda Shubert, as well as public education advocacy groups like Save Our Schools Arizona.
“We’ve knocked on thousands of doors this election and spoke to so many people — students and teachers and parents. I’m just honored that I even had the opportunity to do this,” Rhodes told AZPM Tuesday night.
Sahuarita could lose funding from property taxes
The majority of Sahuarita has voted against Proposition 428 so far, although the “yes” and “no” votes are close and there are still ballots left to count.
The proposition aims to continue a maintenance and operations override in the Sahuarita Unified School District that voters most recently approved in 2022. If official results show the measure failing, the override would terminate by the 2030 school year.
If it does end up passing, homeowners would continue to pay an average $23 every month toward academics, extracurriculars, counselors and safety staff.
