Maricopa Unified School District says it has enough in its reserve coffers to weather any bumps in the state budget as a $200 million shortfall in Arizona’s basic state aid fund could delay payments to public schools this month.

In a June letter to school leaders, the Arizona Department of Education had warned school district and charter leaders that unless lawmakers passed a new state budget or approved a separate supplemental appropriation by June 13, the department will not have the funds to make the full payment this month. Instead, schools would receive about 60% of the usual allocation.

That deadline came and went without a state budget.

“As of now, that fund is projected to be approximately $200 million short,” wrote Tim McCain, chief financial officer of the ADE in a letter dated June 4. “If a budget is not passed … ADE will make a partial payment … [and] upon receiving the supplemental appropriation, ADE will process the remaining payment.” 

The uncertainty stems from the Arizona Legislature’s ongoing delay in passing the FY2026 budget before the June 30 deadline. Axios reports that the sticking point is over Proposition 123, which would funnel state land trust earnings into K‑12 funding.  

“ADE will exhaust all possibilities to ensure payments … but it is wise planning to prepare for a potential partial payment in June,” McCain added. 

Despite the warning, Maricopa schools prepared for this rainy day.  

“Although a delay in the state budget could impact the timing of June payments from the Arizona Department of Education, it will not impact Maricopa Unified School District operations,” said Jacob Harmon, the district’s chief financial officer. “We have sufficient budget reserves to cover a temporary delay in state funding, and we expect full payment to be processed once the state budget is finalized.” 

As of publication time, negotiations over the state budget were still ongoing, although the Senate passed a budget late yesterday. Lawmakers have yet to release a firm timeline for resolution.