PVSchools schedules five public forums ahead of November override election

By Stacy Mantle
Mail

PVSchools is asking voters to continue its existing 15% maintenance and operations override and its district additional assistance override during this year's general election.

Early voting begins Oct. 7. 

The first public forum is scheduled 6-7 p.m. Sept 1 at North Canyon High School, followed by meetings at Horizon, Paradise Valley, Shadow Mountain and Pinnacle Peak high schools throughout the end of the month. All meetings are open to the public. 

“Even after operational overrides are included, Arizona’s operational spending per student is about 30% below the national average," said Chuck Essigs, director of governmental relations for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials. "Those overrides help the districts that can pass them, but they do not make Arizona a high-spending state.”

PVSchools M&O override would allow PVSchools to spend up to 15% above its state-imposed revenue control limit. The existing override generates approximately $30 million annually for educational programs and district operations. 

“The maintenance and operations override increases a district’s spending authority for operational expenses," said Essigs. "The most significant part of a school district’s operating budget is salaries and benefits.”

Because the measure is a continuation of an existing override, it would maintain the current authorization rather than establish a new override.  

Voters will also consider continuing the district's DAA override. That measure would authorize approximately $6.73 million annually for capital expenses, including instructional materials and support vehicles. 

According to the district, the DAA proposal would maintain the current tax rate while increasing the amount of annual funding authorized under the override. 

The district's five informational forums are: 

• Sept. 1: North Canyon High School Lecture Hall, 1700 E. Union Hills Drive, Phoenix
• Sept. 15: Horizon High School Media Center, 5601 E. Greenway Road, Scottsdale
• Sept. 16: Paradise Valley High School Media Center, 3950 E. Bell Road, Phoenix
• Sept. 22: Shadow Mountain High School Media Center, 2902 E. Shea Blvd., Phoenix
• Sept. 30: Pinnacle High School Lecture Hall C, 3535 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix

The forums provide residents with opportunities to learn how the two overrides work, what the funding supports and what would happen to district funding if either measure is not continued. 

Should voters reject the measures, the district would not immediately lose all override funding. Existing override funding would phase down under state law.

PVSchools has estimated that failure of the M&O continuation would result in an approximately $10 million reduction in the first year and eventually eliminate roughly $28 million to $30 million in annual operating revenue.

Failure of the DAA continuation would eventually eliminate the district's existing capital override funding, currently about $6.41 million annually. 

The general election is Nov. 3 with early voting beginning Oct 7. 

Editor’s note: A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.