I am writing in strong support of Chandler Unified School District  Bond and Override request on the Nov. 4 ballot. I am a conservative education advocate formerly serving as a school board member in the West Valley. Because of that role, I have gained a great understanding of school finance in Arizona.

It is important to know that CUSD has more than 5.5 million square feet of taxpayer assets that must be maintained and must be available to provide safe and educationally appropriate settings for the more than 38,216 students educated at CUSD. CUSD is presently the third largest school district in the state and is a highly performing school district continually receiving an “A” rating for their district and most of its schools. Annually, it reports low administrative spend and high dollars to the classroom on the district spending report.

It is clear that the State Legislature understands the importance of providing capital dollars to support educational facilities and curriculum needs as it annually approves significant capital dollars to both charter school and vouchered students. Please see the comparison table below showing the significant amount less that CUSD students receive than charter school students or students on a voucher (ESA, or Empowerment Scholarship Account):

Note that if CUSD students were funded at the same level as charter school or ESA students, CUSD would receive an additional $66.8 million (from what it  receives today) of funding annually to meet uts ongoing facility needs. This funding level would also negate the need for an override. The value of the CUSD override is about $45.51 M leaving about $21.3 M that would go toward maintaining its more than 5.5 million square feet and provide needed classroom space for any student coming to its door.

Please know that the operational funding (non-capital) per student is exactly the same for charter schools as district schools and vouchers.

The reason for the significant disparity in capital funding is due to the fact that charter schools and vouchered students do not have the authority to request additional override and/or bond funds from the property taxpayer. The Legislature anticipates that school districts will garner support from their local taxpayer to provide these funds so that each student being educated is funded on a level playing field. All of the funding for charter school students and vouchered students is funded through the state general fund supported by income taxes and sales taxes. Alternatively, district school students are funded through an equalization formula in state statute that requires local taxpayers to contribute to the funding for local students.

Again, to ensure that the students in your community are funded equally to charter school and vouchered students and are in safe and appropriate facilities, please vote YES on the CUSD Bond and Override request this November.