Ballot Math / School districts / Tolleson Union
School board race and measures: Tolleson Union High School District

Tolleson Union: the board race where three of four candidates are in lawsuits, plus a doubled bond ask

November 3, 2026 general election. Nonpartisan, at large: vote for up to two for the board. Tolleson Union High School District No. 214, about 14,000 students in the west Valley, also asks for a $250 million bond and a 15 percent operating override. Both measures failed in smaller form in 2025.
How this race works: two of the board's five seats are up, both for four-year terms. Four candidates are on the ballot, including both incumbents; vote for up to two and the top two win. Board service is unpaid. The Arizona Republic's summary of this race is the one voters should start from: "Three of the four candidates are embroiled in education-related legal battles, either directly or indirectly."

Devin Del Palacio (incumbent)

Lifelong Arizona resident; first ran for this board in 2014 and was the first African American to serve on it. He is executive director of the Copper State Education Alliance and a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory solar system ambassador. He previously led the Arizona School Boards Association.
  • The legal and resume record, per the Republic: in 2024 he was accused of lying on his resume about having a college degree while leading the Arizona School Boards Association. He resigned, then formed his own company, Copper State Education Alliance, which the Association sued in 2024, accusing it of illegally using the group's copyrighted material in a scheme to divert clients. That lawsuit is ongoing.

Elda Luna-Najera (incumbent)

She holds two offices: this board seat and a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives, to which she was appointed in 2024 to replace Leezah Sun, her fellow Tolleson Union board member at the time. She was governing board president in 2025.
  • The superintendent dispute, per the Republic: in 2025 Superintendent Jeremy Calles accused Luna-Najera of sexual harassment. The previous governing board announced that an investigation had found a sexual relationship between the two; Calles then filed a Title IX complaint. The next governing board declared the previous board's action retaliatory, and Calles was awarded a $450,000 settlement.

Diann Amaro

A paralegal and the parent of a high school senior. She is a frequent and critical speaker at board meetings.
  • Her lawsuit: in October 2025 she sued the district and Calles in federal court, claiming she was banned from speaking at governing board meetings because of her criticism, in violation of her First Amendment rights. The case is ongoing.

Fernando Urbina

Harvard University graduate (2022, government), founder and CEO of a startup, and a board member of the Greater Phoenix Equality Chamber of Commerce. He is the one candidate of the four with no involvement in the district's legal fights, per the Republic.
  • Stated priorities: investing more funds in classrooms, increasing school safety, and adding counselors and mental health resources for students and educators.

The context: spending fights around the superintendent

Per Republic reporting, Calles is the highest paid superintendent in Arizona, making over $400,000 in the 2025/26 school year; writers of arguments against the measures in the district's own pamphlet put his salary at $491,000 and call him uncertified. He pushed an $80 million domed indoor football stadium that the board ultimately rejected. The district also effectively loaned $25 million to neighboring Isaac Elementary School District during that district's financial crisis, which critics said should have stayed in Tolleson Union. Former board member Kino Flores chairs a group, Citizens for Schools Accountability, formed to demand accountability for district spending and to address declining student performance. Longtime resident Steven Alvarez told the Republic that the board and leadership behave like "parents fighting in front of their children" and called it embarrassing for the community.

The bond: $250 million, and the override: 15 percent

In one sentence: Tolleson Union may borrow $250 million for school improvements, at an estimated average tax rate of $0.68 per $100 of net assessed value, and separately may exceed its operating budget by 15 percent, raising an estimated $16,304,710 at an estimated rate of $0.7204 per $100.

The history matters here. In 2025, Tolleson Union asked for a $125 million bond and a maintenance and operations override, and voters rejected both. The 2026 bond ask is double the rejected one. These are new authorizations, not renewals of anything voters approved in 2025.

The math for your household

Bond about $112 a year, override about $112 a year, for the average homeowner

Those are the Arizona Republic's average homeowner figures (the override works out to an added $9.33 a month). The district's rate math: the bond at an average $0.68 per $100 of net assessed value is about $170 a year on a home with $25,000 of net assessed value (roughly a $250,000 market value home), and the override at $0.7204 per $100 is about $180 a year on the same home. Districtwide assessed values vary, which is why the average homeowner figures are lower than the $250,000 home illustration.

A YES vote (each question)

Bond: the district may borrow up to $250 million for capital projects. Override: the operating budget rises by 15 percent, funding salaries, counselors, and programs.

A NO vote (each question)

Bond: no new borrowing, as in 2025. Override: the district operates within the state formula budget, as it has since the 2025 rejection.

The strongest case for YES

  • The needs did not fail in 2025, only the ask did. Supporters argue facilities and operating shortfalls compound, and that the district's students should not be held hostage to a governance fight among adults.
  • Classroom investment is the stated point. Urbina's priorities, more money in classrooms, counselors, and safety, are what override dollars typically fund.

The strongest case for NO

  • The pamphlet arguments are blunt. Opponents writing in the district's own informational pamphlet call the bond "play money," cite reading and math proficiency in the 20s percentiles, and ask why a district of under 14,000 students pays its superintendent more than Los Angeles Unified pays its own.
  • Double the rejected ask. A district whose $125 million bond failed in 2025 returns asking $250 million, and critics say that sequence alone answers the question.

Verification notes

  • School board campaigns file finance reports with Maricopa County. No raised or spent totals for these campaigns appeared in the coverage we reviewed; we print no totals rather than guess.
  • An aggregator site lists a fifth name, Karen Matthews, as a Tolleson Union candidate. She appears in neither the county superintendent's certified candidate list nor the Republic's coverage, so she is not listed as a candidate here.
  • The $491,000 superintendent salary figure comes from arguments printed in the district's informational pamphlet, written by opponents of the measures; the Republic's figure is "over $400,000" for 2025/26. Both are printed with their sources rather than merged.
  • Lawsuit descriptions summarize Republic reporting of allegations and filings. The ASBA suit against Del Palacio's company, the Calles matter, and Amaro's suit were all described as ongoing in that reporting.

How to vote without getting your ballot rejected

  • Mail it by Tuesday, October 27, 2026. After that day, do not mail it: use a drop box or a vote center instead.
  • It must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. Postmarks do not count.
  • Sign and date the affidavit envelope, and write a current phone number on it.
  • Leaving any item blank is allowed. The board race and each measure are separate items; you may answer any, all, or none of them.

Sources

Ballot Math: analysis only, no endorsements. Every candidate in this race got the same template: background, stated priorities, the record that exists, and honest notes where the record is thin.