Higley override would help youngest grades

The Higley Unified School District is asking voters to approve a budget override Tuesday that would help the district's youngest students.

The special maintenance and operations K-3 (kindergarten through third grade) override election would give Higley an estimated $1.4 million annually for seven years, starting in the 2010-11 school year. This amount is 5 percent of Higley's revenue control limit, which is the amount the state will allow a school district to spend in its maintenance and operations budget.

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The only way for school districts to spend more than the state-set limit is when its voters agree to tax themselves for the additional money.

"It's a sad state of affairs that school districts even have to consider overrides," said Panfilo Contreras, executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association. He said 89 districts around the state are seeking overrides on Tuesday.

Contreras said most of the public is supportive of public education, so the concern is who turns out to vote: those who are anti-tax or those who support public education.

"In the last election, a vast majority of the bonds and overrides passed," Contreras said.

The Higley override is seen as a way to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. It could also provide instructional assistants and additional instructional materials, and improve instructional support in kindergarten to third grade.

Stacy LaGoy is the committee chairwoman for the Yes for Higley Kids K-3 override committee. She said with another round of state budget cuts expected, the extra money is needed in the district.

"I have little control over the state budget, but I have the ability to vote yes to increase the amount of dollars that go to my child's education," said LaGoy, who has two children in Higley schools and a younger child who will soon attend the district. "My children, along with other HUSD children, cannot wait out a bad economy as it relates to their education."

If the override is approved, homeowners' yearly tax rate is estimated to increase by $23 per $100,000 of assessed home value. Business owners' yearly tax rate would increase by $50.06 per $100,000 of assessed business property value.

However, LaGoy said since Higley's tax rate has gone down 90 cents since last year for every $100 of assessed home value, if the new tax of 23 cents is added, homeowners would still have a lower tax rate than last year.

"This is not a luxury but a necessity for the academic and social success of our children," said LaGoy, a Gilbert resident. "There is no stronger case to be made."

This is the first time the district has asked voters to approve a K-3 override, and it will be the last time the district can call for an override specifically for K-3 grades because of a change in the law.

When Higley's governing board approved calling for the override election in June, the November election was contingent on a House bill that would move any upcoming school override elections to March 2010.

HB2122 passed, but not in enough time to affect this election, said Chuck Essigs, the director of government relations for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials, so this override election will continue in November as planned.

The House bill increases the maximum amount for a maintenance and operations override from 10 percent of a school district's revenue control limit to 15 percent, and changes the language for a K-3 override. The bill will expand the K-3 override to include special programs for grades K-12, Essigs said.

"No matter how you mix them together (however), the maximum (amount) schools could get is 15 percent," he said. A Higley online survey in June gauged whether there is interest in voters approving a K-3 override.

The district received 369 responses to the survey, with 88 percent saying they would vote in an override election and 79.4 percent saying they would support the K-3 override. Those who weren't supportive of the override election said it was because of increased taxes and the down economy.

The district currently has in place a maintenance and operations override and a capital outlay override.

The maintenance and operations override was passed by voters in November 2008 and the capital outlay override was passed in November 2006.

In November 2006, the district's voters also approved a $120 million bond election.

For more information on Higley's K-3 override, visit www.husd.org.