— Jessica Vocca, COCSD Superintendent
Every day, families trust our schools to provide safe, reliable, and effective learning environments for students. That responsibility extends beyond academics and includes maintaining facilities that are secure, functional, and capable of supporting students and staff for years to come.
Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District has maintained school facilities and operations within available funding resources. For decades, the district has worked carefully to maintain schools, stretch limited resources, and responsibly steward taxpayer dollars while continuing to support strong student achievement across the community.
Today, many of our schools and support facilities are reaching a point where significant infrastructure improvements are needed. Across the district, aging water lines, septic systems, HVAC equipment, safety systems, roofing, and other infrastructure require attention. In recent weeks, water main breaks at the Cottonwood Education Services (CES) campus resulted in school cancellations, highlighting some of the ongoing challenges associated with aging systems that impact students, staff, and daily operations.
In addition, several district facilities, including school gyms and cafeterias, currently rely on evaporative swamp coolers rather than full HVAC systems. In Arizona’s extreme temperatures, these systems are often insufficient to adequately cool large student spaces and require significant maintenance throughout the year to remain operational. Replacing aging cooling systems is not only for student comfort, but also for maintaining safe and functional learning environments year-round.
Over the past two years, the district has pursued available funding sources to help maintain and improve facilities. Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District secured approximately $1.2 million in Arizona School Facilities Board funding for infrastructure and facility improvement projects. Those funds have helped address immediate needs and extend the life of important systems across district campuses.
However, School Facilities Board funding is limited in scope and generally focused on emergency or qualifying deficiencies rather than larger long-term replacement projects. Like many districts across Arizona, Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District is now addressing systems and facilities that have aged beyond what routine repairs can adequately support.
Arizona school funding laws separate operational funding from capital funding. While district operational budgets support day-to-day expenses such as teacher salaries, utilities, and student programs, those funds cannot be used for major capital projects such as roofing, HVAC replacement, buses, security systems, water infrastructure, or large-scale facility repairs. School districts across Arizona may seek voter approval through bond measures when major infrastructure and facility needs arise.
Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District is preparing for the future by addressing infrastructure, safety, and long-term school renewal needs across the district’s five school campuses and district support facilities through a proposed $30 million bond initiative. These funds would not be directed to a single school or project, but instead would be stretched across the district to address needs at multiple campuses and operational facilities where aging systems and infrastructure are impacting students, staff, and daily operations.
The Governing Board recently approved a call for election, placing the bond measure before voters on the November ballot as Proposition 409, as assigned by Yavapai County.
The decision to pursue a bond recommendation came after careful consideration by the Governing Board and district administration. While no funding decision is taken lightly, the facility assessment data demonstrates an urgent need to stabilize school infrastructure, improve safety systems, and address critical facility needs that can no longer be delayed. This proposed bond is not about expansion or building new schools. It is about maintaining and renewing the schools we already have. This also sustains long-term efficiencies that reduce costly emergency repairs and improves operations over time.
A major focus of this proposal is strengthening school safety through upgraded technology infrastructure that includes enhanced campus access controls, modern school emergency communication and notification systems, and tools designed to improve reliability and emergency response capabilities across the district. Using federal funding the district is also in the process of hiring a dedicated safety officer to help mitigate this process and strengthen emergency preparedness efforts, coordinate response planning, and support campus security improvements districtwide.
The Verde Valley is a unique community made up of families, longtime residents, working professionals, and retirees who value the area’s quality of life and strong sense of community. Public schools continue to serve students and families throughout the Verde Valley and remain an important part of the community’s long-term strength and stability. Due to this, Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District schools have earned Arizona Department of Education “A” ratings in recent years, reflecting the hard work of students, employees, families, and the broader community.
Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District has worked hard to earn the trust of this community through careful financial management and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. We do not take this request lightly. The Verde Valley has historically supported our schools when important facility and safety needs arose, and we remain committed to transparency, accountability, and thoughtful planning moving forward.
Delaying these repairs will only increase future costs and place additional strain on systems that our students, staff, and community rely on every day. In recent years, the district has experienced septic system failures, well-related issues, and major water line breaks that have disrupted daily operations and impacted school campuses. These challenges underscore the urgent need to stabilize and renew critical infrastructure so students and staff can continue learning and working in safe, reliable environments.
As we move toward a future election, our commitment will remain transparent, focused on community engagement, and grounded in responsible stewardship as we continue conversations with families, staff, and community members about the urgent investments needed to support safe, sustainable, and effective schools for current and future generations of Cottonwood-Oak Creek students.
If you have any questions regarding the tax implications or would like to tour our facilities, please contact the Superintendent’s Office at (928) 634-2288. Additional community information, opportunities for feedback, and project details will continue to be shared in the coming weeks and months as we work together to plan for the future of our schools.