Q: What is a school improvement bond?
● Arizona state law limits school district budgets. A school bond election provides local voters the opportunity to approve additional capital funding for specific projects identified by the school district as part of the bond election. Bonds fund capital projects including construction and equipment – projects that are intended to benefit the District in the near term and over time.
Q: How will the bond be spent?
● It is the intent of the Governing Board to apply proceeds from the sale of the Bonds as follows:
- $7 million for safety and security renovations and equipment
- $40 million for repairs including roofing, air conditioning and other renovations of school buildings
- $4 million for technology and classroom equipment
- $48 million for new school construction
- $1 million for school buses and other student transportation vehicles
Q: Does the District currently have safety measures in place?
● Yes. The Governing Board considers the safety of District students and staff to be the number one priority. However, the Governing Board also considers it imperative to invest in upgrades to the District’s current school safety and security features to ensure the safest learning environment possible.
Q: Why are repairs needed?
● With some aging buildings in the District, the Governing Board considers it imperative to provide for building modernization, repair, and upgrades, including roofing, air conditioning and other renovations, to ensure that all students have a safe and healthy learning environment.
Q: Why does the bond program include funding for technology and classroom equipment?
● The District has made strategic investments in technology in District classrooms to support providing a 21st century education to District students. As the District continues to invest in student learning and achievement, technology continues to play a vital supporting role. For this reason, it is the opinion of the Governing Board that the District should refresh the technology currently in use and continue to make additional improvements.
Q: Public school enrollment is generally going down. How is the District growing?
● The Southwest Valley is designated as one of the top five fastest growing areas in the country (census.gov). The Governing Board is committed to keeping up with growth and providing educational excellence to all students. Based on a facilities assessment, it is the opinion of the Governing Board that new school construction and improvements to existing schools is necessary to maintain class sizes and prevent overcrowding.
Q: Voters just approved an override in 2022, why is the District holding a bond election this year?
● The Maintenance and Operations Override approved by voters in 2022 provides additional support for people and programs including increasing staff salaries. Bonds are authorized by voters and used to purchase capital items and/or make capital improvements to existing facilities, such as building or renovating a school or purchasing school buses. Bonds are repaid over a set period of time, and the District must provide the community with information on how the dollars are spent. Funds from a bond cannot be used for employee compensation.
Q: Is my bond tax rate expected to increase if the Bonds are approved?
● No. it is expected that the bond tax rate will remain at or around $0.57 per $100 of limited assessed valuation if property values grow by 8% through 2029 and 1.8% thereafter. The District has experienced an average 9.7% growth in property values over the past 10 years. The average annual tax rate for the proposed bond program is estimated to be $0.41 per $100 of limited assessed valuation. Currently, the secondary property tax rate for bonds is $0.6682 and is anticipated to decline to $0.5765 for 2024. Arizona Revised Statutes require the District to disclose that the issuance of the Bonds will result in a property tax increase sufficient to pay the annual debt service on the Bonds. It is the current intention of the Governing Board that the amount of the Bonds sold, and the timing of bond sales be such that the District’s secondary property tax rate would not need to be increased, if property values grow by 8% through 2029 and 1.8% thereafter.
