Gilbert voters will fill a Higley Unified School District board vacancy in the November election after a court ruled against appointing a replacement, officials said Thursday. The seat opened when board member Scott Glover resigned on the last day for write-in candidate filings, prompting a lawsuit that challenged the decision by Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs to delay the election until after November.
The vacancy on the Higley Unified School District board arose when Scott Glover resigned on the final day for write-in candidate filings for the November election, leaving two years remaining on his term, according to district records. Following Glover’s abrupt resignation, Maricopa County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs announced that the seat would be filled by appointment after the November election rather than being placed on the ballot. This decision prompted a lawsuit challenging Boggs’ interpretation of state law governing school board vacancies.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Julie Mata ruled on August 27, 2026, that the vacant seat must be decided by voters in the November election, effectively overturning Boggs’ plan to fill the vacancy by appointment.
The legal challenge was filed by Higley school board candidate Travis White and parents Briana Turnbull, Sierra Tialino, and Jennifer Keys, who contended that state law required the vacant seat to be filled by voters in the upcoming election. The plaintiffs accused Boggs of unlawfully refusing to include the seat on the November ballot, according to court documents. The dispute centered on whether a vacancy created on the last day for write-in filings must appear on that ballot or whether it could be filled later by appointment under the superintendent’s authority.
Judge Mata’s ruling interpreted Arizona law on school board vacancies as requiring an election rather than appointment in this case, given the timing of the resignation and the length of the unexpired term. As a result, Higley Unified voters will elect three board members in November, including the seat left vacant by Glover’s resignation.
Following the ruling, Boggs issued a statement saying she respects the court’s decision and has complied with the order. Her office adjusted the Higley ballot to include the disputed seat, meaning her appointment power will not be used for this vacancy. Boggs’ initial position was based on the statutory framework that a county school superintendent must appoint a governing board member to fill a vacancy, or, if deemed in the best interest of the community, call a special election. The case hinged on how these provisions apply when a vacancy occurs at the close of candidate filing for a regular election.
Under Arizona law, a county school superintendent generally is required to appoint a governing board member to fill a vacancy but may call a special election if it is considered in the community’s best interest. Legislative fact sheets cited in court filings note that the superintendent “must appoint a governing board member to fill a vacancy, or, if deemed the best interest of the community, call a special election to fill the vacancy.” The Higley case raised the question of whether the vacancy must appear on the ballot when it arises on the last day of write-in filings, rather than being filled later by appointment.
Comparable laws in other states, including Texas, Kentucky, and New York, often allow temporary appointments until the next regular election, when voters elect a successor to serve the remainder of the term. Judge Mata’s ruling aligns with this broader pattern by prioritizing voter choice when a vacancy arises close to an election and involves an unexpired term of more than one year.
The ruling means that Higley Unified voters will now decide a third school board seat in the November election, adding to the two seats originally scheduled. The seat left vacant by Glover will appear on the ballot, allowing voters to select a member to serve the remaining two years of the term. This adjustment may affect local campaign dynamics and voter engagement as residents consider an additional contested school board race.
Scott Glover’s resignation triggered the vacancy and the subsequent legal dispute, while Superintendent Shelli Boggs’ initial decision to fill the seat by appointment prompted the lawsuit filed by candidate Travis White and parents Turnbull, Tialino, and Keys. Judge Julie Mata’s ruling resolved the dispute by confirming that voters, not the superintendent, must fill the vacancy in this instance.
The court’s decision clarifies the application of Arizona’s school board vacancy laws and sets a precedent for how similar cases may be handled in the future. With the November election approaching, the Higley Unified School District’s ballot now reflects the court’s ruling, ensuring that voters will have the opportunity to fill the vacant board seat for the remainder of Glover’s term.
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