PVSchools seeks $6.73M DAA capital override without increasing tax rate 

By Stacy Mantle
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Paradise Valley Unified School District voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to continue a capital funding override that would provide $6.73 million annually for instructional materials and support vehicles.

The District Additional Assistance, or DAA, override would replace the district's existing $6.41 million annual override approved by voters in 2019. Although the proposed amount is $320,000 higher, district officials say the increase is not expected to raise the DAA override tax rate.

New development and rising assessed property values have expanded the district's tax base, allowing the additional funding to be spread across a larger property valuation. Based on current assessed values, PVSchools projects the tax rate will remain at approximately $0.1334 per $100 of net assessed valuation.

The funding would be used for items including textbooks, library books, instructional software and hardware, student workbooks and support vehicles used for activities, maintenance, warehouse operations and technology.

What is the DAA override?

District Additional Assistance provides money for capital expenses rather than the district's regular operating budget. If approved, the override would provide full funding for seven years and expire in the eighth year unless voters approve another override.

Arizona law allows school districts, with voter approval, to increase their DAA budgets by up to 10% of their revenue control limit. 

PVSchools isn't seeking the full 10%. The proposed $6.73 million override represents approximately 3.43% of the district's revenue control limit.

The money would be used primarily for instructional materials and support vehicles. 

That includes textbooks, library books, e-books, student workbooks, instructional hardware and software, as well as activity vans, maintenance vehicles, warehouse vehicles and technology vehicles. 

PVSchools says inflation has increased those costs while state funding has not kept pace. The state did not begin providing an inflationary increase for DAA funding until the 2022-23 school year, according to the district. 

View PVSchools Fact Sheet on the DAA override

What does this mean for homeowners?

PVSchools says the proposed increase in DAA funding is not expected to increase the DAA override tax rate. The district estimates the rate at $0.1334 per $100 of net assessed valuation.

As a simple illustration, if an owner-occupied home has a taxable value of $300,000, Arizona residential property is generally assessed at 10%, producing a net assessed value of $30,000. Property taxes are then calculated by applying the rate per $100 of assessed value. Using PVSchools rates, this equates to approximately $40 per year. 

The district says new properties and growth in assessed property values have expanded its tax base, allowing it to increase the authorized override from $6.41 million to $6.73 million without increasing the projected rate.

That does not necessarily mean an individual homeowner's total property tax bill will remain unchanged. Property tax bills can also be affected by changes in a property's assessed value, tax rates imposed by other jurisdictions and other factors.

Early voting begins Oct. 7 for the Nov. 3 general election.

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.

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.