Amphitheater Public Schools wants permission to sell four shuttered elementary schools, and Oro Valley families will have a say on Nov. 3.

Proposition 426, on the ballot for Tuesday's election, would authorize the district to sell or enter long-term leases on six properties. The list includes the four elementary campuses the Amphi governing board voted 5-0 to close in January: Donaldson, Nash, Holaway and Copper Creek, according to Arizona Daily Star reporting. Two additional sites, an unused plot of land and a lab formerly used for Pima JTED training, are also included.

Copper Creek Elementary sits in Oro Valley. The other three campuses are in Tucson or unincorporated Pima County, according to AZ Luminaria.

Why the district wants to sell

Amphi has capacity for nearly 19,000 students but serves roughly 10,000, AZ Luminaria reported. Administrators have attributed the decline to a dropping birth rate in Pima County and the rising number of families using Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to homeschool or attend private schools.

Keeping empty buildings costs money. The district is paying for sprinklers, alarm systems and air conditioning on the closed campuses, KOLD reported. Amphitheater communications director Michelle Valenzuela told KOLD the district placed the proposition on this year's ballot because a governing board election was already scheduled.

Valenzuela told KOLD the district needs to sell the properties to realize the savings it is counting on. The district has had appraisals done but does not have a firm sale figure, she told the Daily Star. Proceeds could go toward capital expenses such as furniture, buses or building renovations.

If the proposition fails, the district said it will try again in a future election.

Copper Creek's current tenant

The Copper Creek campus is currently leased to the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (ASDB), Valenzuela told the Daily Star. ASDB officials said they could not say whether they would consider purchasing the property. Tricia Beckham, speaking on behalf of ASDB officials, told the Daily Star the agency is conducting a study on options for its Tucson campus on Speedway, with no completion date set.

Neighbors weigh in

Not everyone is comfortable with a blank authorization. Mark Platt, president of the Copper Creek Homeowners Association, told KOLD he bought his home in the neighborhood because of the nearby school. He said the proposition lacks guardrails, offering no guarantees about how sale money would be used or who would buy the properties.

"It looks like a big blank check," Platt told KOLD.

Near Holaway Elementary on Prince Road and Cherry Avenue, Campus Farm neighborhood association president Thomas Tronsdal told the Daily Star that residents he has spoken with want the proposition to pass so the property does not sit idle. Most people hope the site remains a school or becomes housing, Tronsdal said.

Prop 320 could also reshape Amphi's budget

A second ballot measure affects every large public school district in Pima County. Statewide Proposition 320 would require districts with more than 7,500 students, or those in counties with more than 500,000 residents, to spend at least 60% of their budgets on direct classroom expenses such as teacher salaries, according to an AZ Luminaria voter guide. The Arizona Auditor General's office would define which expenses qualify.

Supporters say the mandate could boost teacher pay. Opponents argue it could force cuts to services like school safety, nurses, counselors and buses, AZ Luminaria reported. The proposition does not apply to private schools or public charter schools. Amphi, with about 10,000 students, would fall under the requirement.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.