Dyer: Register by Oct. 7 to vote in school district bonds, override election
Posted
It’s election time, when voters such as you and me receive, mark and mail-in our ballots for school-district questions.
Richard Dyer
The last time the Apache Junction Unified School District sought in an election a proposed increase of up to 15% to the district’s maintenance and operations budget --- in 2015 --- it failed by fewer than 570 votes cast.
During that special election, there were 4,350 — 46.94 percent — for the override; and 4,918 — 53.06 percent — against the override, according to results posted on the Pinal County Elections department website.
The override would have raised approximately $3.2 million each year and allowed the district to prevent large class sizes, improve school safety and offer competitive salaries to teachers, officials said at the time.
Advance four years and the district is asking for authorization to issue and sell $60 million in school-improvement bonds and exceed its budget by the lesser of $2 million a year for seven years or 10% of its revenue control limit.
The estimated average annual tax rate is $1.13 per $100 for the bonds and $0.46 per $100 for the override of net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes. The average assessed value of a home in the district is $131,000. Based on this average assessed value, homeowners will see an increase of approximately $17 per month if both the bonds and capital override pass, according to AJUSD figures.
If you are 18 or older and live in the district, you can help decide the two questions at the Nov. 5 mail-only election. Join the 35,899 registered voters within AJUSD’s boundaries (as of July 2019, according to the Pinal County Elections Department).
Residents have until Monday, Oct. 7 to register in order to be eligible to vote. Go to pinalcountyaz.gov/ELECTIONS/Pages/RegisterToVote.aspx. Early voting materials may be obtained by calling the Pinal County Elections Department at 520-866-7550.
If you choose to drop off your ballot rather than mail it in, it can be done 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Election Day, at the local Pinal County Recorder’s Office, 575 N. Idaho Road Suite 800 in Apache Junction, according to pinalcountyaz.gov/elections/Voting%20Precincts/BallotReplacementSites.pdf.
Still wondering what the issues are on the ballot? A community information night is planned at the AJUSD district office, 1575 W. Southern Ave., 6-7 p.m. Oct. 17. Tours are also planned on the following AJUSD campuses:
Peralta Trail Elementary School, 10965 E. Peralta Road in Gold Canyon, 2-2:45 p.m. Oct. 7.
Apache Junction High School, 2525 S. Ironwood Drive in Apache Junction, 5-5:45 p.m. Oct. 17.
Cactus Canyon Junior High School, 801 W. Southern Ave. in Apache Junction, 5-5:45 p.m. Oct. 24.
We have a new e-mail address for news and opinions for the newspaper. Please send your content to aznews@newszap.com.
