PVSchools asks voters to continue $30M M&O override
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PVSchools is asking voters to continue and increase a capital funding override that pays for instructional materials and support vehicles, while district officials say the higher funding amount would not increase the current override tax rate.
Paradise Valley Unified School District voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to continue a 15% budget override that provides roughly $30 million annually for employee compensation, academic programs and other day-to-day school operations.
The maintenance and operations override is a continuation of the measure voters approved in 2022. District officials say renewing it would maintain the current level of funding and would not increase the override tax rate.
Arizona law allows school districts, with voter approval, to increase their maintenance and operations budgets by up to 15% above the state-imposed revenue control limit.
"Our Maintenance & Operations override directly supports the educators and staff who serve our students every day, with approximately 85% of M&O funds dedicated to employee salaries and benefits," said Dr. Dan Courson, superintendent of Paradise Valley Unified School District.
PVSchools says rising costs for employee compensation, utilities, insurance, transportation, supplies and contracted services have increased pressure on its operating budget. While state funding has increased, the district says it has not kept pace with those costs because state law caps annual inflation adjustments for district funding at 2%.
Arizona law limits the amount school districts can spend on maintenance and operations through a state formula known as the revenue control limit. With voter approval, districts can increase their maintenance and operations budgets by as much as 15% above that limit.
PVSchools is asking voters to continue its existing 15% M&O override, which provides about $28 million to $30 million annually.
About 85% of the district's maintenance and operations budget goes toward employee salaries and benefits, according to PVSchools.
The district says override funding helps to maintain core academic programs, competitive employee salaries, technology instruction, physical education, fine arts, foreign language and other electives, as well as school safety and security.
The district estimates the tax rate needed to fund the 15% override at $0.5827 per $100 of net assessed valuation.
For illustration, a $300,000 owner-occupied home with a net assessed value of $30,000 would pay about $175 annually, or about $14.60 per month. However, because this is a continuation of an existing override, PVSchools says approval would maintain the current level of funding rather than create an additional M&O override.
What happens if the M&O override fails?
Unlike other overrides, M&O funding does not disappear immediately if voters decline to renew it.
An M&O override lasts seven years, with full funding for the first five. If it is not renewed, funding decreases by one-third in the sixth year and two-thirds in the seventh year, before expiring in the eighth year.
PVSchools says its current override funding would not begin phasing out until the 2028-29 school year.
The first reduction would be approximately $10 million annually, according to the district with the total override amount gone by the end of three years.
The district says that could lead to larger class sizes, reductions or elimination of student programs and less competitive salaries.
The Nov. 3 election determines whether PVSchools can continue collecting the locally authorized funding represented by the two overrides.
"Continuing this override allows us to continue providing essential academic programming, electives, and competitive compensation without raising the current tax rate," said Courson.
Early voting begins 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 or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
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.
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