West Valley school districts have approved their 2009-10 budgets, but the amounts could change multiple times in the next few months.
Many districts prepared for reductions between $300 million and $900 million to the state education budget, but it didn't cut that deep. Although the Legislature restored some funding for public schools, lawmakers still have to find a way to pay for it by Oct. 1.
Base support levels weren't cut as much as expected, but state grants for school resource officers, early childhood for required preschool, gifted and others could be reduced or possibly eliminated, said Bill Christensen, Tolleson Elementary District superintendent.
For now, some money is also being held in limbo, including $175 million in soft capital funding that covers items such as textbooks, computer equipment, instructional aides and lease payments.
If a revised spending plan isn't reached before the deadline, that money will be freed up for schools to use.
In the meantime, districts were required to adopt budgets by July 15, but those likely will be revised next month with new forms scheduled to be released by the Arizona Department of Education.
Still in the dark
Nine out of 14 West Valley districts approved budgets that are less than last year's by an average of 3.6 percent. The Tolleson Union High School District will have the biggest cut, by 8.2 percent, or $4.1 million.
Two components contributed to the district's decrease: a reduction of its maintenance and operations override and the loss of state funds for excess utilities, said Mike Barragan, director of finance.
Since a district's override amount is decreased by one third in both the sixth and seventh years, Tolleson's dropped from about $3.4 million to about $1.5 million since 2007, he said.
Historically, districts were also allowed to increase their tax rate to support the raising price of utilities, but that's no longer the case. The change will cost Tolleson about $1.8 million.
"When you take those two things into consideration, that's pretty huge," Barragan said.
Neighboring Tolleson Elementary District will see the second-largest hit to its budget with 6.2 percent, or about $1 million.
"It is unfortunate that the perception is schools were not cut," Christensen said. "Schools took the largest cut midyear last year and now the cuts have been made permanent by the current year budget. We can only hope that continuing to cut the 49th funded public school system is not going to happen, or it will become more and more difficult to improve our schools and produce quality students statewide."
Four districts adopted bigger budgets than last year. The Buckeye Elementary District estimated the biggest jump, by 5.2 percent ($1.1 million).
The Litchfield, Littleton and Union elementary districts also projected increases, while the Saddle Mountain Unified School District's budget is staying about the same.
"At this point, we're just monitoring legislation and looking at the Legislature to determine what they're going to do," Barragan said. "We hope they don't continue to cut education."
Notices may be confusing
Business managers in the districts have also predicted tax rates for this year, but those will be altered next month once the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors sets the rates.
Nine districts published Truth in Taxation notices, which are required by law if they want to raise taxes in an area such as adjacent ways without taking it to voters.
However, critics of the law's required wording say it forces the districts to announce huge hikes in property tax rates that might not actually happen.
State statute spells out how districts must word the notices, which can make it look like the district is raising an entire tax bill when really the hike represents a percentage of the total primary tax rate.
If a district also has an increase in its assessed value or has a large cash balance, that helps to level out the tax rate, and in some cases makes it even lower than the previous year.
Littleton Elementary District's notice shows its primary property taxes increasing by almost $79 for a $100,000 home in order to levy money for adjacent ways. In reality, the rate will decrease by $6, said Karen Eyherabide, executive director for business services.
While tax rates are still up in the air, some districts are predicting a decrease. Residents in the Saddle Mountain District could pay $112 less for a house valued at $200,000.
That's because the district is returning almost $3 million in adjacent ways to the taxpayers, Business Manager Sandra Wilkins said. The money was levied in prior years for the wastewater treatment plant, but then the district received a grant from the School Facilities Board.
"The state is paying for the wastewater treatment plant, so we're giving that money back," she said.
Emily McCann can be reached by e-mail
at emccann@westvalleyview.com.
