General Information

       
At its June 5, 2012 meeting, the Governing Board decided to call for a 15% Maintenance And Operations (M&O) Override initiative to be placed on the November 6th ballot.

What is a 15% M&O Override?

A voter-approved 15% M&O Override runs for a period of seven years. For the first five years, this allows a school district to budget up to 15% percent more than the revenue control limit and will replace the District's current 10% M&O and 5% K-3 Overrides. Unless renewed, a phaseout of 1/3 of the approved funds occurs in year six and again in year seven.

The existing M&O Override was initially passed in 1989, with subsequent renewals in 1993, 1997 and 2003 and 2007, and is due for renewal in 2013. The first year phaseout of this override will result in a loss of funds of over $4.3 million dollars, beginning in the 2013-14 school year, if not renewed. The existing K-3 Override was initially passed in 2005 and reauthorized in 2009.
Replacing the two overrides with the 15% M&O Override combines and continues the current secondary tax applicable to the overrides.
What is the purpose of the override? The proposed 15% Maintenance & Operations (M&O) Override will replace Scottsdale Unified School District’s (SUSD) current K-3 Override reauthorized in November 2009 and the 10% M&O Override reauthorized in 2007.

 Printable Factual Information | Información fáctica para imprimir

  15% M&O Community Information Meeting

  Statements "For" or "Against" The Special Budget Override Election

  Petición De Una Resolución "En Favor De" O "En Contra De" Una Elección Especial

How was the money used previously and will the replacement override be used? (See graph below)

Comparison of the existing 10% M&O Override and K-3 Override VS. Replacement 15% M&O Override

What is the impact of the potential loss of existing M&O Override funds?

• $7,364,516 – Loss of 179 Teachers, resulting in larger class sizes
• $1,885,488 – Art Program reductions
• $854,487 – Elementary Music Program reductions
• $1,482,592 – Gifted Services reductions
• $1,352,638 – Athletics and Co-curricular Program reductions

TOTAL FUNDING LOSS of $12,939,721 over 3 years

Will this raise my tax rate?

Because assessed values have declined over the past several years, some taxpayers may see a slight increase
in their taxes.

How much will this override cost me as a homeowner?

Based on the $320,698 average value of owner occupied residential property in the District for 2012-13 and
$0.0728 more in projected tax rate for M&O overrides in 2012-14, there would be an estimated $23.36 increase
for the owner of this average home. This amount is based on projecting an 8% decline in 2013-14 for Secondary
Assessed Value.

Replacement Override

 Currently, SUSD maintains a 10% M&O Override and a 5% K-3 Override. The 15% M&O Override will replace
these two overrides
 Replacing the override continues the Secondary Tax
 The dollar amount of existing tax may increase as secondary assessed value (SAV) goes down

How will this benefit students?

 Additional reductions to class size
 Expands District Gifted program
 Increases opportunities for World Language study
 Maintains the Full Day Kindergarten program from the 5% K-3 Override
 Maintains current Art, Elementary and Co-curricular programs
 Maintains extracurricular Athletics programs at current levels
 The total funding from the 15% M&O override is $19.5 million. It will provide an additional $3.2 million in
budget capacity. The additional funds will be used to further reduce class size, expand the District Gifted
Programs, add additional World Language Programs, implement the Middle School Concept and provide
Staff Development.

Is the increase permanent?

SUSD will require renewal of the 15% M&O Override every 5 years.
Isn’t funding provided from the state for this kind of program?
Over the past 3 years, the District has had to cut over $20 million from its operating budget due to cuts from the
State. This level of cuts is unprecedented in our State’s history.