School districts ask voters to OK spending plans

East Valley school districts are asking voters to approve funds for salaries, technical equipment, building repairs and the ability to maintain small class sizes through questions that will appear on the November ballot.

Approval by voters in Chandler Unified School District would mean it could maintain its current spending level. Approval by voters in the Tempe Union High School District would mean the district could restore its spending level, cut this year after voters turned down similar measures.

The Tempe Union and Chandler Unified school districts have both placed maintenance and operations budget overrides on the ballot. Tempe Union is also asking for a capital override and authorization to sell $30 million in bonds for repair projects.

TEMPE UNION

Last fall, voters turned down Tempe’s maintenance and operations budget override request. The result was a $2.1 million cut to that budget this year. Without voter approval, additional cuts will come next school year, and the year after that.

“We feel strongly, especially in tough times, investing in our young people is the best investment you can make,” Superintendent Steve Adolph told reporters during a meeting Wednesday.

About 87 percent of school district maintenance and operations budgets are used to pay for salaries and benefits.

The spending is limited by state statute. Voters can approve a seven-year override to tax themselves the funds needed to give districts up to a 10 percent budget boost. Last year’s failure was the first since 1983. Without approval at the end of the fifth year of an override, the override begins to be phased out, which is what happened to Tempe. Voters last year also turned down a new $6.3 million capital override.

All three measures are critical for a number of reasons, school officials said.

This year, the state halted funds for maintenance projects. Tempe Union is facing an enrollment drop, which means a drop in funds. And the district took out a loan to address air quality issues at Corona del Sol High School.

“Basically we don’t have any money to pay back the loan if the bond doesn’t pass,” district chief financial officer Diane Meulemans said. The terms of the loan are written in a way that limits what funds can be used to repay it.

A committee advocating passage of all three issues in Tempe — the Yes! Yes! Yes! Support Our Schools group — reports that passing all three items would cost the owner of a $281,080 house about $5.62 a month on their property tax bill.

“It’s critical, critical, critical. This is a full three-alarm deal,” committee chairman Dick Foreman said.

The $6 million-a-year, seven-year capital levy pays for buses, technology, textbooks and library books, Meulemans said.

CHANDLER

The Chandler school district has had a budget override in place for at least 20 years. A “yes” vote would continue the override tax. If it fails, the district could have to trim $20 million over a three-year span, district spokesman Terry Locke said.

Failure of the budget override would be equivalent to cutting salary and benefits to 400 teachers, Locke said. Chandler has a contingency fund to use when its student population stops growing. But it could have to draw on those funds if the override is turned down.

“It’s an insurance plan for an override failure, but really it’s designed for when we stop growing so we can maintain quality programs and maintain quality staff,” Locke said.

“A successful override will enable us to continue to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and maintain or improve our average student-to-teacher ratio of 23 to 1.”

When districts stop growing or lose students, they face budget issues. Mesa Unified made cuts in staffing because of a drop in student enrollment.

So far, Locke said he’s heard positive feedback during presentations to community groups.

“The feedback has been strong. There’s support from industry, support from parents, Sun Lakes,” Locke said.