Delson Sunn was the high roller Dec. 11 and his historic jackpot won him another term on the Union Elementary District Governing Board.
He faced off against fellow write-in candidate Adrian Hernandez since each got nine votes in the general election Nov. 4. A state statute declares the winner of a tie must be determined by lot, or chance.
It was the first time the county has seen a tie for a governing board position, Maricopa County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling said.
Giant dice and casino paraphernalia decorated her office, where each candidate took a turn gambling their fate with a roll of the dice.
"A game of chance can be any variety of things; it can be a cut of the cards, a flip of a coin, the shortest straw," Dowling said. "We just decided a roll of the dice would be more than appropriate and decided to have a little bit of fun with it."
The game got off to a rocky start when a toss to decide who would go first came out as another tie with each candidate rolling a one.
"Let's hope this doesn't go this way the rest of the afternoon," Dowling said.
The Governing Board seat was finally won when Sunn rolled a nine and Hernandez got a four.
When asked if he had a strategy for the game, Sunn replied, "I only know one way to roll and that's just to throw them out there."
Both candidates were familiar with the district and the challenges it has faced in the last two years. Sunn has served on the Governing Board for about 10 years, while Hernandez is a former employee.
Union was placed into financial receivership in May 2007 for overspending its budget by $2.5 million between fiscal years 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Hernandez's position as operations manager for the district was eliminated Oct. 31, 2007, by Peter Davis, a state-appointed financial receiver.
A report released by Davis stated Hernandez received a 38.2 percent raise - along with three other top officials - at a time when the district was already overspending its budget.
In June 2007, Sunn was targeted for recall by a parent, CaraLee Alvarado, who said her motive was an "increase in uneducated decisions." The action was called off in October 2007 after she learned the district would have to pay more than $2,500 for a special election.
Union is still in receivership, but has paid off all its debt to vendors and has started repaying money owed to the state.
While the Governing Board still has a say in matters regarding the district, the receiver has the ultimate authority to overrule any decision the board makes.
"This here is probably the most fun thing these board members will do their entire term," Dowling said. "They've got some really tough decisions to make, especially in the Union Elementary School District. It's been a district that's struggled the last couple of years."
Sunn will continue to serve with fellow board members Joshua Hitt and Luis Sanchez.
Emily McCann can be reached by e-mail
at emccann@westvalleyview.com.
