CCUSD Overrides

With a lot of negative press about our school district recently, some papers have taken the

opportunity to cast a negative shadow on the upcoming Maintenance and Operations budget override, which affects our district. I would like to clarify what the override involves and the legalities behind it. 

In December, the school board called for the M&O Override to be put on the May ballot. Prior to this, Dr Kent Frison, Associate Superintendent of Operations and Finance, took the opportunity to educate the public on how the school budget is created, financed and what the M&O override is, and how it effects our schools and our taxes. These presentations were done before the override was voted upon, thereby not only being entirely legal, but also very necessary to inform the public of the facts and figures. 

· 84% of the M&O Fund is for salary and benefits

· 16% pays for services such as utilities and garbage and supplies (paper, pencils etc)

Basically we’re voting on the amount of money available to pay teachers and support staff along with special programs such as advanced placement, fine arts, music, foreign language etc., for grades K‑12.

A ‘Yes’ vote will keep the secondary tax rate on our property tax bill at $0.19 per $100 assessed value. It will not increase your current tax rate.

A ‘No’ vote will discontinue the 2002 override and decrease your tax rate by $0.063 per year for the next three years. A ‘No’ vote will decrease the M&O budget by $925,333 per year, which is equivalent to 18 teacher salaries. In three years, we could lose 54 teachers.

According to law, now that the override has been called for election, the district can no longer use district resources to influence the outcome of elections, so it is now us to people like myself and the media, to keep the public informed. An advocacy group, Cave Creek Support Our Students (CCSOS), which is an ongoing organization (not a PAC) has long‑term goals and objectives: to ensure students at CCUSD receive the best education possible and to encourage parents, community members and staff/faculty to become more involved in and aware of the various activities of the district. Please check CCSOS’s Web page ccsupportourstudents.com, to keep informed about current issues or talk to a member of the PTO’s, Boosters or Men’s Club who believe in our students and schools.

Nicola Morton
CSHS PTO President