For education has been a contentious issue in Arizona for quite some time. The
Flagstaff Unified School District relies on funding from the state of Arizona to
not only meet the needs of educators and students but also to keep school
buildings maintained. And with the significant cuts to funding in the past
ten years, the school district turned to voters to address underfunding of
Flagstaff schools. NAZ today Sakyo Kelsoya has the story.
Flagstaff Unified School District's capital funding from the state of
Arizona stood at about seven million dollars in
2007, ten years later that funding stands at only six hundred thousand dollars.
Leaving Flagstaff schools severely underfunded when it comes to basic needs.
Issues like this led to last spring statewide red thread movement. During
this past election FUSD sought to address capital funding shortfalls by
turning to voters. Propositions 423 and 424 were both voted yes by more than
60% of voters. Penca: "Those funds are generated both these propositions through
secondary property taxes." Prop 423 allows for an FUSD to sell up to 75 million
dollars in general obligation bonds. Along with providing building
maintenance funding, Superintendent Michael Penca says there are numerous
ways the money will help. Penca: "Maintenance upgrades, health, safety, security
enhancements. It would address technology access for students, so we strive to be a
one to one district, so that ratio of devices to students and then it also
includes funds for replay, a regular replacement cycle of school buses, so you
know we have a large school district drive a lot of miles on our buses." But
the money could also eventually be used for a new school. Penca: "We included in our
language and information about the bond program was a replacement of an
elementary school. Two, our two oldest elementary schools Killip Elementary and
Kinzie Elementary were identified in our facility assessment that we conducted
last year." Prop 424 is an override that continues a previous FUSD property
tax and will continue the funding for the next seven years. Penca: "Allows us to fund
the programs that we value a need that the state doesn't fully fund or require,
such as full-day kindergarten program art, music, and PE at our elementary
schools, intervention programs, the magnet programs that we offer,
athletics, activities, those kind of things." But plans won't be finalized
until the school board and Bond Oversight Board have given their
approval Sakya Kelsoya, NAZ Today. The next FUSD work session is scheduled
for sometime in December.
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