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Dennis Blauser, Superintendent of Oracle Schools, is pleased that the budget override was approved by voters. John Hernandez | Miner
Superior School officials are happy that the budget override referendum was approved by Superior voters last week. Mila Besich-Lira | Sun
Copper Area News
For school districts in north and eastern Pinal County it was like winning the trifecta as voters approved, by mostly hefty margins, all three tax override initiatives to support their maintenance and operations budgets that were on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Voters approved the 15 percent override request by the Superior Unified School District (SUSD) by a 369 Yes to 234 No vote (61.2 percent in favor) and the 15 percent override request by the Oracle Elementary School District (OESD) by a 2,606 Yes to 2,258 No vote (53.6 percent in favor). The 10 percent override request by the Ray Unified School District (RUSD) in Kearny also was approved on a 443 Yes to 253 No vote (63.7 percent in favor).
Under Arizona law, school districts can ask voters to increase the basic funding (budget) allocated by the Arizona legislature by up to 15 percent. These overrides are authorized by voters for only seven years. If not approved for another full term after the fifth year, the tax override is reduced by one-third in the sixth year, two-thirds in the seventh year, and reaches zero in the eighth year. Override funds come from increases in local property tax rates.
For SUSD, approval of the 15 percent override enables the district to continue funding schools at its current level.
“We’re happy not to have to find ways to trim $83,000 from the budget that would have occurred in the sixth year of the override enacted in 2009,” said SUSD Superintendent Patrick O’Donnell. “This means we can keep class sizes at a ratio of about 20 students per teacher and not eliminate any classroom aids. We also can keep computers in our elementary schools and not have to downsize Physical Education classes.”
One of the positions that SUSD had been considering for elimination should the override failed and the district was forced to economize was the full-time physical education instructor.
“We are overjoyed at the level of support SUSD received from the community and will do our best to reward their confidence in us to provide the best possible education to local students,” O’Donnell added.
Also ecstatic about the Nov. 4 vote was OESD Superintendent Dennis Blauser, especially since last year’s attempt to continue the district’s 15 percent override fell 52 votes short.
“I’m absolutely thrilled at the outcome,” Blauser said. “Everybody involved in the override effort worked hard to get the message across about what good education means to the community. This effort was especially effective among the retired people in our community; for whom schools may be an abstract idea. We educated them as to the value of schools and how having good schools benefits them, and they voted for the override, putting it 352 votes over the top.”
Approval of the override restores the funding lost when the referendum failed last year and OESD had to trim its budget by nearly $154,000 during the first reduction year. OESD can thus resume programs it dropped last year, including art and music, though the district will have to find qualified teachers to head these program to replace those who were let go and moved elsewhere.
Had the override not passed, OESD might have had to trim its budget further, which could have resulted in fewer teachers, large class sizes, and the loss of physical education classes.
Happiest at the approval of his district’s 10 percent override was RUSD Superintendent Curt Cook.
“We were blessed with the support RUSD received from the community,” Cook said. “We had the biggest turnout at the polls. The citizens saw our need and the kids are the big winners. We will reward their support by doing an even better job in educating our next generation.”
Unlike other districts, RUSD relied entirely on a word-of-mouth campaign to get the override passed. Rather than hiring consultants and forming PACs, RUSD relied on parents who promised to get the word out to at least five other people, who in return were asked to further pass the word to at least five more people. According to Cook, they got the people who value education out to the polls.
The 63.7 percent winning margin for the RUSD override was the greatest of all override proposals on the ballot in the mining areas this year.
Despite getting funding to continue existing programs, RUSD has still had to make changes in recent years to live within the revenue it has been budgeted, Cook explained. One change involved going to a four-day school week, with students attending school only Monday through Thursday but going longer hours of from 7:55 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Elsewhere in the area school tax override referendum fared worse. While the Casa Grande Union High School District and the Eloy Elementary School District received voter approval, those in Coolidge, Maricopa and Queen Creek saw their initiatives rejected. However, an $80 million bond issue to build new schools was approved in Queen Creek.
James J. Hodl is a career journalist who has worked for newspapers, magazines and trade journals. A graduate of Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, Hodl began his career as a reporter with the Palatine (IL) Herald and the Morton Grove (IL) Review before becoming editor of the trade publication Appliance Service News. In recent years, Hodl has had articles published in Consumers Digest, Good Housekeeping, Home Remodeling, Kitchens & Baths and Salute; and has contributed to trade publications serving the home furnishings, restaurant and casino markets. A native of Chicago, Hodl relocated to San Tan Valley in 2013.
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