• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Schools Suffer If Tax Vote Fails, Officials Say: Mesa District Relies on Shared Funds for Some Programs

Posted on: Sunday, 16 April 2006, 18:00 CDT

By Sarah N. Lynch, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Apr. 16--The Mesa Unified School District probably will not have enough money to keep afloat certain safety and recreation programs if voters reject two tax measures on the ballot this May, district officials said.

That means school programs, not just city services, could be cut if Mesa doesn't find a new source of funding to make up for a projected $25 million budget shortfall. On May 16, the city will ask voters to approve a property tax and a sales tax increase to cover the shortfall.

But if the measures fail, programs receiving money from both the schools and city would go on the chopping block. These include school resource officers in junior high schools, some maintenance expenses at the Webster and Jefferson recreation centers, after-school recreation programs and maintenance at city pools.

City officials floated the idea of negotiating with the schools to take on some of the costs, but assistant superintendent Jill Benza doesn't think it will be feasible.

"Our hands are tied," Benza said. "We have no place to get additional money."

In the upcoming election, voters will decide whether or not to approve a property tax that would raise up to $30 million next year. At the same time, voters will decide whether to raise the city sales tax to 1.75 percent from 1.25 percent.

Failure of either or both measures could result in widespread program reductions, city officials warn.

If the measures pass, however, the additional revenue would go toward city jobs, services and programs. That includes the school resource officers and the recreation centers used by Mesa schools for physical education classes.

The school district can afford to fund its portion of these programs, but officials say they can't raise enough money to maintain the status quo if the city pulls its funding. To do so would cost the district an additional $700,000 just for the two pools and the school resource officers alone, according to city figures.

"Quite frankly, we're trying to figure out how we can approach the city to share some of those costs," Superintendent Debra Duvall said during a board meeting Tuesday.

Duvall said the board could have some difficult choices about adopting orphaned city programs as the district faces growing insurance, pension and other increasing costs.

It would cost the schools roughly $1.6 million to cover the city's portion of the jointly funded programs. That doesn't include money the district already contributes.

The possibility remains of scaling back some of these programs but school officials say they won't know how deep the cuts will be until they know how much money will be coming from the state. State funding of public schools is determined through a formula based on average enrollment figures.

The district's population has dropped roughly 1 percent, so officials are anticipating less money than last year. In addition, the district is facing increases in retirement, health care and utilities.

A city list recommends eliminating or reducing close to 100 programs and services should the tax proposals fail at the polls. The list can viewed on the city's Web site at www.cityofmesa.org.

Some of the items on the list may only be saved if the sales tax passes; others are dependent on a property tax. The school resource officers fall into the property tax category. The other items, including the recreation centers, depend on sales tax.

At this point, helping the city pay for recreational programs seems out of the question not only for monetary reasons, but also because recreation is not the school district's priority.

"Our priority is education," Benza said. "We will not take from academic programs to subsidize a recreational program."

Even if the schools wanted to raise taxes to support these programs, there is no mechanism in place to do so. Bond elections pay for capital projects in schools, and budget overrides must be designated for a specific purpose. Mesa district voters approved a budget override just last March -- and that money has already been earmarked for education-related programs such as maintaining class sizes, security, instructional supplies and technology training.

To suddenly redirect that money to help pay for recreation programs would be unethical, Benza said.

"We told the public when we did the override how we'd spend it," Benza said.

Bob Hisserich, the cochairman of Property Owners In Opposition to Question 2, says he's not surprised to hear that the schools have no way to raise funds to pay for these programs. He said he finds it odd that city officials even suggested the possibility of passing the financial burden to the schools when there would be no way for them to pay for it.

"The fact they are talking about that would make me believe that they can negotiate (with the schools),

but my civics tell me that they can't," he said.

Expenses shared

by Mesa schools

and the city

School resource officers to provide security in junior high schools

City contribution: $470,498

School contribution: $250,000 Note: The school district pays for the officers at high schools with a $903,855 safe schools grant.

After-school recreation programs at 60 elementary schools and 13 junior high schools

City contribution: $819,900

School contribution: $180,000 toward transportation for intramural sports at junior high schools

Webster and Jefferson recreation centers

City contribution: $265,000

City contribution that may be cut: $70,000

School contribution: $53,792 for utilities and custodial services Note: Only a portion of the funding for these facilities would be cut if the sales tax fails.

Poston and Rhodes pools

City contribution: $215,006

School contribution that may be cut: Officials do not have a breakdown of the school district's contribution to pools. The city pays for water, sewer, gas and electricity for all 11 city-owned pools utilized by the schools

SOURCE: Mesa Unified School District, Mesa

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Tribune

More News in this Category