Gilbert Public Schools moves to shore up future finances 

By Tom Blodgett
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Twitter: @sp_blodgett

As two board members concluded their service, the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board approved Dec. 20 a series of financial moves to put the district on stable ground into the future. 

Charles Santa Cruz’s and Bill Parker’s final meeting with the board proved significant as the district presented preliminary findings from its audit, which came back clean, and the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, or AFCR, along with the financial moves: 

Establishment of a formal employee benefit trust, along with appointment of the trustees and approving a revision of the reserving policy exhibits; 

Approving the issuance and sale of the final $18 million in voter-approved school improvement bonds; 

Agreement to take advantage of a new ability from the Legislature to prepay the district’s Arizona State Retirement System contribution. 

Each of the moves passed unanimously, as did the acceptance of the AFCR.  

Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betz said after the meeting the district was looking to put itself in a sustainable financial position in the future. 

“When you look forward, you always want to do things that's going to give you more flexibility in the future,” she said. “So that's what we've been doing. We are trying to give us more flexibility in the future so that we don't ever have to cut 300 employees because we don't have the resources.” 

Employees were already covered by a self-insurance trust fund, but they will be moving from a voluntary employee benefit association, or VEBA, to a formal Employee Benefit Trust. Now, instead of a bank as the trustee, the trust will have its own board of trustees. 

That board will include one district employee, one member of the governing board and three members of the general public. The governing board appointed Betz as the district employee, Sheila Uggetti as the board member and Santa Cruz, Reed Carr and Mark Weech as the members of the general public. 

Santa Cruz, who abstained from the appointment vote, is eligible in that role as he is leaving the board. Carr, a former board member, is chief financial officer for ARCUS Private Capital Solutions. Weech is a member of the district’s audit committee and is a certified public accountant. 

The trust will keep $7 million to $12 million in reserves for this fiscal year, as approved by the governing board. 

The governing board also approved the sale and issuance of the last $18 million in bonds from its 2019 bond ask that voters approved. Betz told the board the district wanted to do the approval now so they would have time and flexibility on when to actually to go to market on the bonds, but noted that the money would be needed for projects to be done in summer 2023. 

Finally, prepaying Gilbert Public Schools’ contribution to the Arizona State Retirement System is something the district can do after the Legislature passed Senate Bill 1082, allowing ASRS employers to voluntarily join its newly implemented Contributions Prepayment Program.  

Under the program, employers may deposit a lump-sum payment to the ASRS, which is credited with actual ASRS investment returns. Employers determine when, in the future, to utilize their prepaid contributions. Utilization occurs when an employer decides to offset their future contribution payments, such as during a period of economic downturn. Employers determine the length of time over which to utilize their prepaid contributions. 

The board approved GPS prepaying up to $25 million of maintenance and operations-funded future ASRS contributions.    

Betz said the district was in good position to make such a contribution time now because of one-time payments the district received during the pandemic. 

At meeting’s end, Superintendent Shane McCord and board members paid tribute to Parker and Santa Cruz for their service. 

Parker is ending 23 years of public education work after leaving the military. He was appointed to the board in 2021 after Carr resigned. The final two years of Carr’s original term will be filled by Ronda Page as she was the only candidate for a two-year term to successfully earn a spot on the ballot. 

Santa Cruz has done 46 years in public education. He worked for GPS for 31 years, starting as a teacher, eventually becoming the principal at Gilbert High School. He was first elected to the governing board in 2014 and served as board president during the pandemic years of 2020-21. 

McCord, who worked under Santa Cruz at Gilbert High, choked up in speaking about his former boss. 

“You're a true gentleman who's extremely intelligent and most of all dedicated to education,” McCord said.  

Santa Cruz, whose seat will be taken up by newly elected Chad Thompson, said it was a pleasure to work with board members who cared about what happens to students and employees in the district. 

“I said when I began my stint on the board that the governing board must embrace consensus and trust,” he said. “I think we have done that. (We) must nurture a culture of accountability and support the efforts of educators and staff in supporting students for the world beyond our school board. I encourage you to continue in that effort.” 

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert
@sp_blodgett

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).