Peoria Unified is in the fourth year of its maintenance & operations override, which means the district could look at extending it in the next year or two.
The district held a public meeting Oct. 10 to update the community on the status of the override.
District CFO Michelle Myers said expenditures in the M&O fund go to day-to-day operations that take place in the district. This override is used to provide additional funding to support people and programs.
“This includes salaries and benefits, supplies, utilities, transportation and other operational expenditures not of a capital nature. Maintenance and operations funds cannot be used to build new schools or to renovate and repair buildings and campus infrastructure,” Myers said.
The current override at PUSD provides funds for staff compensation, supplement extracurricular/athletics, physical education, nurses, assistant principals, reading and gifted programs as well as band, choir and art.
In fiscal year 2024, the override provided $33.2 million in additional funding. The district projects the override will provide 33.1 million in fiscal year 2025.
“We will be talking more about overrides in the coming year,” PUSD President Rebecca Proudfit said.
When funding provided by the state isn’t enough to meet the needs of all students, districts may ask voters to approve a bond and/or M&O override increase through an election to support capital needs or positions and programs.
This requires governing board approval to be placed on a ballot for the community to vote.
Districts are required to hold a public a meeting each year between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 to update the board and public regarding bonds and overrides, according to state law.
The Oct. 10 meeting fulfilled this requirement, Myers said.
“I will note that this is the first year in over a decade that the administration does not have a bond program update because the district’s 2012 program was fully expended in fiscal year 2023,” Myers said.
An override is in place for seven years. If not renewed by the voters, the additional funding is eliminated in the last two years of the override. It phases down one-third in year six and two-thirds in year seven, and is fully eliminated in year eight.
The district's 13% M&O override was approved in November 2015 and went into effect July 1, 2016. The 13% override was continued by voters in November 2020, which took effect July 1, 2021. It will start phasing down July 1, 2026, and be fully eliminated in 2028, if not extended or increased by voters.
School districts may ask for an increase of up to 15% of their revenue control limit for a term of seven years.
Myers said all the surrounding unified districts have a 15% override, while Peoria Unified is the only district in the northwest Valley with a 13% override.
Proudfit said the override is an important funding source for all-day kindergarten.
The override provided $4.2 million to all-day kindergarten in fiscal year 2024 and is expected to do the same in fiscal year 2025.
“(All-day kindergarten) is a massive, massive hardship for families, especially when you look at parents who are working,” she said. “That full school day puts an incredible burden on parents, so being able to offer that within the school district is certainly, in my opinion, a necessary service for our community.”
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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