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This means $8 million less in Tempe taxes! So with a population of about 170,000 people that means each person will have $47 extra cash in their pockets they wont have to give to the goverment nannies at the government run public school.
High school override defeat will impact schools After finding out voters turned down two multimillion dollar overrides for her district Tuesday night, Tempe Union High School District Governing Board president Zita Johnson dreamed those results were mistakes. But when she awoke, the decisions that will cost Tempe Union $8 million in the next fiscal year remained reality. Voters said no to a continuance of a maintenance and operations override, with 54 percent or 5,697 voting no and 46 percent or 4,850 voting yes. They also failed to approve the continuation of the capital override, with 56 percent or 5,865 voting no and 44 percent or 4,677 voting yes. Wednesday, district administrators began re-evaluating its budget and determining potential cuts. Decisions are far from being made, but cuts could impact class sizes, student services, programs and extracurricular activities, salaries, facilities, maintenance and the elimination of positions. "The staff will roll up their sleeves and try to lessen the impact on students," district spokeswoman Linda Littell said. Arizona law mandates that every school district spend the same amount per student, $3,447 this year. State law allows districts to ask voters to "override" the state limit with additional taxes to pay for operations, capital purchases and kindergarten through second grade. Overrides expire after seven years unless voters renew them. A 40-year Tempe resident, Johnson could not recall a time when district voters did not support an override. She said that voters told her prior to the election that they were concerned over the increase in property taxes, and said that district officials thought a negative outcome was a "remote possibility." "This is a surprise and a shock. Our community always supports public education to a great degree," Johnson said. "I was aware of the property taxes... But I didn't expect that it would result in those two questions being defeated." Passage of the maintenance and operations override would have cost homeowners 17 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, and the capital override 12 cents per $100. The operations override last year resulted in $6 million last year for salaries, benefits and educational programs. The capital override would have provided $6 million to the district's budget for maintenance, buses and technology equipment. It would have added for these areas, Littell said that in one south Tempe neighborhood an anonymous flyer discouraging passage of the measures was left on doors. Littell said it contained inaccurate information and she called it a "scare tactic." But Littell said the district is taking full responsibility for the outcomes and underestimating the impact of property tax increases. Littell said the district will call for another override in 2008. If that does not pass, it would cost Tempe Union $10 million for the 2009-10 school year. Voters passed Tempe Union's third measure, which approves future land sales or exchanges of property, with 64 percent or 6,259 voting yes and 36 percent or 3,460 voting no. Tempe voters also approved continuation of a Tempe Elementary School District budget K-3 override, with 54 percent or 1,763 voting yes and 46 percent or 1,495 voting no. This will cost homeowners 16 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. The funds helped to keep class sizes small and supported AIMS (Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards) tutoring and summer school programs.
Arizona schools chief Tom Horne sound like King George. He doesn't get it he wants more money! Maybe somebody should sting him up on a telephone pole like they did to Mussolini, then he would get it. Schools stunned by voter rejection Budget overrides defeated in 17 of 22 Valley districts Pat Kossan and Ofelia Madrid The Arizona Republic Nov. 8, 2007 12:00 AM Voters looked at their rising mortgage payments, the empty houses on their streets and a shaky economy. Then, in 17 of 22 districts, they shot down proposals to maintain funding for Valley schools, deciding they couldn't afford it. School officials on Wednesday pointed to those reasons in trying to explain why only five East Valley districts voted to continue their current property-tax rates, not cut them. Total losses, most phased in over three years: about $51 million for school programs and nearly $19 million for capital projects. The 17 districts will have to immediately begin tightening budgets for next school year and prepare to take their case to the voters again. School officials said they knew gloomy economics and still-high taxable home values would make voters leery of renewing tax rates, but no one predicted so many proposals would fail. Arizona schools chief Tom Horne said that if the districts do not persuade voters to change their minds, they will face "catastrophic" cuts that could reduce teacher pay, increase class size and leave new schools without desks. "A defeat can be a good education for a district, saying, 'Hey, you need to put more effort into communicating with the community,' " Horne said. Voters reject school override proposals Why voters said 'no' Here are highlights of the Valley override elections that were rejected Tuesday, according to unofficial results. Glendale's tally may change Friday when questionable ballots are counted. Maintenance and operation override amounts, totaling $39 million, will be phased out over three years starting in 2008-09. K-3 overrides, which totaled $12.1 million, would have paid for school programs. The $18.5 million in capital overrides were for computers, buses and other supplies. Agua Fria Union High School District Maintenance and operations override: $3.1 million. Capital override: $3.9 million. Alhambra Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $7 million. K-3 override: $3.5 million. Avondale Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $2.9 million. K-3 override: $1.5 million. Balsz Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $1.5 million. K-3 override: $775,435. Buckeye Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $1.99 million. Cave Creek Unified Capital override: $4.7 million. Glendale Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $6.5 million. Isaac Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $3.8 million. Litchfield Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $4.9 million. Littleton Elementary Capital override: $300,000. Morristown Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $98,763. Pendergast Elementary Capital override: $2.3 million. Roosevelt Elementary Capital override: $1.3 million. Tempe Union Maintenance and operations override: $2.1 million. Capital override: $6 million. Tolleson Elementary Maintenance and operations override: $1.45 million. K-3 override: $$722,943. Tolleson Union Maintenance and operations override: $4.1 million. Washington Elementary K-3 override, $5.7 million. |