By Madeline Bates
Mail

The Kyrene School District will have fewer teachers next year as a result of fewer children attending schools in the district, which is having a big impact on district finances.

District officials also are looking to pare its utility spending that has crept up as electricity prices have risen.

The school district teaches more than 13,000 students and serves parts of Tempe, Chandler and Guadalupe as well as Ahwatukee Foothills. The school board is scheduled to adopt the budget on July 8 following a public hearing and questions. It must be submitted to the state for approval on July 15.  

Kyrene Associate Superintendent Chris Herrmann presented a proposed budget for the 2025-26 school year increasing by over $6 million from the previous year.

 Herrmann cited teacher salaries, retirements, and an offset number of enrolled kindergarteners from graduating 8^th graders who are leaving the district for high school.

The proposed teacher base salary for 2025-26 is $59,118. The district also offers a retention stipend of $1,000 for teachers who return to their position after the first year. The base salary does not include performance stipends or Proposition 301 pay, an Arizona state law that allocates $500 million in state funds to teacher salaries annually.

Herrmann also said there were reductions in full-time staff, including teachers and other instructional staff. He didn’t state how many of the 46 reductions were layoffs.

The main reason for the reduction was the lack of new kindergarteners being enrolled to offset the amount of 8^th graders moving to high school, eliminating teaching and support staff.

The district reports around a 560 student loss from promoting 8^th graders and incoming kindergarteners. This has directly impacted funding and employment.

Herrmann says although some positions were eliminated, other positions in the district could be filled from the individuals that lost their positions.

Along with a cut in how much the district is getting based on the number of students, the district estimates utilities to be one of the biggest expenses for the year.

Kyrene estimates a loss of about $4.2 million in maintenance and operations funding as a result of their loss in students. However, the district expects the state to partially offset this by $1.8 million from inflation funding.

The district also reports a $1.5 million increase in utility costs district wide for power and water citing SRP’s increased rates. 

SRP allows schools to choose from a general or time of use plan with rates exceeding $0.17 during peak times in July and August. 

Despite the increase in utilities, the district has a total reduction of just under $2.6 million from the 2023-24 fiscal year.

The district expects a total budget of $225 million including capital and operations funding from the state. 

Following the presentation, board President Kevin Walsh noted State Superintendent Tom Horne and the Arizona Department of Education has only allotted for 60% of school funding following a $200 million shortfall.

Herrmann responded by saying that this should not be an issue as the district has reserved funds for the school year and would not see programs suffer.