The Higley Unified School District’s fiscal year 2023-24 budget, which garnered preliminary approval from the governing board this week, includes a one-time primary property tax rate increase of $0.16 per $100 assessed valuation.
The levy would increase $1.5 million and would be adjacent ways and means funding to improve sidewalks, roadways and the public rights of way that would improve traffic flow by school property across the district, but primarily at Williams Field High School and the district’s middle schools. The levy would be for one year only.
The budgets were approved on a 3-1 vote June 7 with Board Member Anna Van Hoek voting in dissent specifically because of the levy. Board Member Kristina Reese was absent.
The maintenance and operations budget was approved at $124.79 million, up from $124.18 million that was given tentative approval in March. The capital budget was approved at $23.7 million, up from $17.41 million tentatively approved in April.
The increases are primarily as a result of funding coming from the state budget approved in May by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs, HUSD Chief Financial Officer Tyler Moore said.
The large capital budget increases came mainly from a one-time state aid supplement from the Legislature of $3.49 million and another $3 million increase in budget-balance carry forward, a result of expenses incurred in this fiscal year, which ends June 30, but that will not be end paid until next fiscal year, Moore said.
The increases also allowed the district to decrease its transfer of maintenance and operations funding to capital by $1 million. The district makes the transfers to support paying its middle school leases and because its bond questions for capital needs failed the past two election cycles.
The maintenance and operations budget pays for day-to-day operations of the district, including most salaries. The capital budget covers items like buildings, curriculum, technology and vehicles.
The changes in the budget did not receive any pushback from the board, but Van Hoek objected to the adjacent ways and means levy, which state law allows the district to charge.
“This is another way of taxing the community,” she said. “History (shows) people in the area don’t like bonds, don’t like overrides, don’t like to be taxed.”
But Board Member Amanda Wade said this was a case where the tax would benefit the whole community as opposed to only people with students in the district.
“The amount of money we can save in gas alone from not having to do stop-and-go traffic would equate to that (amount paid in the tax) in the course of a year,” she said.
The budget comes back for final approval at a public hearing during the board’s June 28 meeting.
Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on Twitter. We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
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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