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Two school-related ballot initiatives were approved and one was narrowly rejected on Nov. 3 by voters in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.
In Queen Creek, a proposed 15% override to increase funding for day-to-day operations for schools within the Queen Creek Unified School District (QCUSD) was approved by nearly 56% of voters.
In southern San Tan Valley, more than two-thirds voters also approved transferring three schools in the southwestern portion of the community from the Coolidge Unified School District (CUSD) to the Florence Unified School District (FUSD).
But in northern San Tan Valley, the fate of a $40 million bond issue to fund school improvements in the J.O. Combs Unified School District took a roller coaster ride. Early returns on Election Night had the initiative trailing with only about 45% voting “yes.” But as the ballots cast by mail were counted, the gap narrowed so that by 10 p.m. the Yes votes rose to 48%. And by 4:30 p.m. on November 4, the tally released by the Pinal County Election Department (PCED) had the Combs bond issue approved by 36 votes (a slim 50.55% of ballots cast).
The celebration was short lived. After 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 5, post-election auditing by PCED found that some late early ballots had been counted twice. Once eliminated from the tally, the Combs bond issue received 1,426 Yes votes (49.72%) and 1,442 No votes (50.28%). The ballot initiative lost by only 16 votes.
Reaction to the paper-thin loss was somber.
“We’re profoundly disappointed,” Combs Superintendent Dr. Gayle A. Blanchard said through an aide.
“I and the volunteers who worked furiously to win voter approval for the Combs bond issue are extremely upset,” said Kim Bane, who headed the pro-initiative volunteer group Combs Kids Count Vote YES! “The volunteers couldn’t have worked harder, having rang nearly every doorbell of San Tan Valley homes in the district to promote the bond issue. We even doubled our efforts in the Ironwood Crossing subdivision that has been unfavorable to district issues in the past.
“To find out we lost by 16 votes only a day after we thought we won is heartbreaking,” added Bane, who also is a Maricopa County probation officer who lives in San Tan Valley and has children enrolled in the District’s schools.
Had the Combs bond issue passed, it would have been used to fund necessary infrastructure and classroom improvements throughout the district. These upgrades would have included school and building renovations and improvements, technology upgrades along with new classroom furniture and equipment, and student transportation (buses) upgrades, and construct a maintenance/transportation facility. A community auditorium with concert hall seating 800 to 1,000 people at Combs High School also was proposed.
The news was happier in Queen Creek where the QCUSD 15% override was approved by a vote of 3,126 Yes to 2,477 No, for a victory margin of 649 votes.
QCUSD, which began the 2015-16 school year with zero override funding, said it would use the additional $4.3 million the override would raise through a hike in property taxes to attract and retain quality teachers by offering competitive salaries, which would reduce teacher turnover and help the District retain its “A” rating with the state. The additional revenues also would be used to reduce class sizes, increase academic programs that prepare students for college or the workforce, expand art and music classes, and expand and enhance athletic, ROTC and gifted programs.
“The public spoke on November 3 and said education was an important priority,” said Bobette Sylvester, the Queen Creek resident who headed the pro-override group Yes to a Stronger Community.
Key to the campaign were the more than 100 volunteers who spent three consecutive Saturdays ringing doorbells throughout the district explaining to voters the benefits of approving the 15% override, as well as appearances before civic groups and local festivals.
“The volunteers pointed out that QCUSD needed the additional revenues to maintain educational standards as per student spending has dropped by $2,000 since the 2008-09 school year, and that funding education now will assure a better future for Queen Creek,” added Sylvester, who also is past president of the Arizona Association of School Business Officials.
QCUSD Superintendent Dr. Perry Berry offered deep appreciation for the community effort that secured the 15% override.
“I want to thank our voters and all the people who organized a structured and honest campaign on our behalf. Many people worked tirelessly to commu8nicate the facts and encouraged our community to vote. I want everyone to know how impressed I am with the support they have for a quality K-12 educational system. Our institution serves as a cornerstone to a strong economy and democracy, and I want to encourage everyone to share the ‘good news’ about QCUSD,” Dr. Berry said.
Prior to the vote, QCUSD said approval of the override will add on average about $244 to property tax bills for Queen Creek homeowners.
The margins of victory were even greater in southern San Tan Valley where voters were asked to shift boundaries between two districts that would result in the transfer three schools from CUSD to FUSD. To accomplish that, voters in three areas would all have to separately approve the shift. And all three did by margins of at least 71.95%.
In FUSD, including all of Florence and a section of San Tan Valley south of Empire Boulevard and east of Gary Road, voters cast 3,917 Yes (71.95%) and 1,527 No (28.05%). Inside CUSD within Coolidge (south of Arizona Farms Road) the vote was 1,009 YES (82.23%) and 218 NO (17.77%). And in the area of southwestern San Tan Valley that was part of CUSD (bordered by Empire Boulevard on the north, Gary Road on the east, Arizona Farms Road on the south, and Bell Road on the west) was 985 YES (82.15%) and 214 NO (17.85%).
As a result of the vote, San Tan Heights Elementary School, Mountain Vista Middle School and San Tan Foothills High School currently in CUSD will be transferred to FUSD. This action would enable FUSD to take advantage of unfilled seats at San Tan Foothills by transferring students from its Poston Butte High School, a school built to serve 1,890 students but currently attended by nearly 2,100. San Tan Foothills was built to serve 1,520 students but currently is attended by only 500.
Work to assure the transfer of schools goes smoothly will begin soon, said FUSD Superintendent Dr. Amy Fuller. It is expected that the three CUSD schools will go to FUSD on June 30, 2016.
“We are pleased that the victory margin in all three areas was so large,” Dr. Fuller said. “It shows what can happen when we all work together.”
In promoting the school transfer, the group Action For the Children headed by retired teacher and San Tan Valley resident Dave Downey accomplished its goal by stressing the property tax savings to local homeowners.
For FUSD residents, the emphasis on savings was the elimination of the need for FUSD to build a second high school in San Tan Valley at a cost of $40 million to alleviate overcrowding at Poston Butte High School. Instead of taking on a new debt, homeowners take on only about $16.2 million to take over the remainder of the bond issued used to build San Tan Foothills High School.
Approval of the schools transfer also is expected to result in property tax decrease in Coolidge proper of about $19 per $100,000 valuation, and a $12 decrease in the San Tan Valley portion of CUSD.
All vote totals are considered “unofficial” by PCED until they are accepted and canvassed by the Pinal County Board of Supervisors at its Nov. 18 meeting.
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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