How School District’s actions do not affect property tax rate and Why it matters to the Cave Creek Unified Override election

You will not find a more cogent analysis of how school districts in Arizona (in this case Scottsdale) cannot affect your primary property tax rate than this one…

Impacting Property Taxes

Since the Board cannot adopt a budget in excess of the statutory amount (except as it relates to secondary taxes), and never adopts a budget that is less than the statutory amount, the Board's adoption of a maintenance and operations budget does not effect the primary property taxes paid by its property owners.

Likewise, while changes in student numbers (i.e. this year's drop of 561 total students) affect the overall amount of money the District gets to spend in any given year, declining enrollment has no effect on primary property taxes.

The primary tax rate is impacted only when the state alters the statutory funding formula in some way.

 

The secondary tax rate is strictly voter approved, so again no day to day action by the district can change what the voters approve (right!).

Thank you so much to Earth4439.

So the implication for the Cave Creek Unified school district and its PAC is that claims from the governing board its fiscal responsibility around property taxes are false.  Day to day operations and board decisions do not affect property tax levels. And don’t forget that the Sonoran News has already proved that 5x3 = 3x5.

Learn Yes is going down the wrong road arguing property tax rates.  It’s strategy of threatening teachers jobs will not get it very far either.

If the district and the PAC want to win over the voters, then show us the plan to achieve academic excellence and that our students will be the best performing students in the world.

The governing should start by demanding that the administration start meeting the board’s Number 2 Goal…

2. Develop and deliver a curriculum, instructional program and assessment process which exceeds state standards.

Is it too much to ask for our district to exceed state standards and for the governing board to reach its own goals?