If voters in the Gilbert Public Schools district approve a 15% maintenance and operations budget override continuation, their property taxes will go ... down?
Strange as it may seem, running contrary to what would seem to be common sense, it likely is true.
The reasons are two-fold, Gilbert Public Schools Associate Superintendent Bonnie Betz said.
First, the override is for 15% of the district’s revenue control limit, and because the district has declining enrollment, that revenue control limit is falling. The override’s value to the district has fallen from $35.8 million to $35.1 million as a result, according to the district.
Second, there is a significant amount of new property coming on to tax rolls in the district, Betz said.
“Everyone's proportionate share declines because there's more new property that's spreading out that lesser dollar amount across more people, more taxpayers,” she said.
The district estimates the secondary property tax rate of $1.2988 per $100 assessed value will fall to $1.18, and Betz said it potentially could fall further than that.
Money raised through the override has to be spent on issues the district defines for voters: ensuring competitive salaries to recruit and retain high-quality teachers and staff in classrooms; maintaining programmatic choices for students to create future-ready graduates; maintaining campus safety and security personnel; and maintaining class sizes with an allocation to class size reduction.
So how does that tax reduction show up for the property owner/taxpayer?
The average assessment value in the district in November 2023, according to Maricopa County, was $251,560. Plugging in a property tax rate of $1.2988 per $100 assessed value means the tax is $326.73.
But a year later the average assessment value in the district has risen 4.8% — the maximum for any property by state law is 5% — to $263,600, according to the county. But if the tax rate falls to $1.18 per $100 assessed value, the amount due for the following year becomes $311.05.
That’s a reduction of $15.68 on your bill for the year, or $1.31 per month if a resident pays through an escrow account on the mortgage.
Of course, some people may prefer to wipe $300-plus dollars off their property tax bill altogether. But if the override fails, that is not what happens. At least not immediately.
Overrides in Arizona last for seven years, and the last two years the override begins to sunset by one-third each year before it fully expires.
GPS is on year five. Its current override will remain in place if the continuation vote fails, but it will begin that sunset period next year, meaning the override falls to 10%. The savings would be a little over $100, rather than $300, and the district can try for an override again.
But what about the effect on the taxpayer from the district bond question? Some signs around town are asking voters to say no to the GPS bond and override.
Well, funny thing about that. If voters look long and hard on their ballot for the GPS bond, they may have trouble finding it.
That’s because the district isn’t asking for a bond on the November ballot.
“We're always looking out for the taxpayer and making sure that we're making the right decisions on behalf of the taxpayer,” Betz said. “We know that they're supporting the school system in Gilbert.”
We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.
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).
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