Mesa Unified School District 4, Arizona, Property Tax and Budget Increase Question (November 2019)
| Mesa Unified School District 4 Property Tax and Budget Increase Question |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 5, 2019 |
| Status: |
 Approved
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| Topic: |
| Local property tax |
| Related articles |
| Local property tax on the ballot November 5, 2019 ballot measures in Arizona Maricopa County, Arizona ballot measures Local school tax on the ballot |
| See also |
A measure to authorize a property tax and budget increase was on the ballot for Mesa Unified School District 4 voters in Maricopa County, Arizona, on November 5, 2019. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of allowing the school district to exceed the revenue control limit through property taxes estimated at $1.86 per $100 in assessed property value for six years. |
| A no vote was a vote against allowing the school district to exceed the revenue control limit through property taxes estimated at $1.86 per $100 in assessed property value for six years. |
At the time of the election, Mesa Public Schools was the largest school district in Arizona. The override was estimated to provide $54 million per year.[1]
The election was an all-mail election, which means all eligible voters received ballots in the mail. Voters also voted at polls on election day.
Election results
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Mesa Public Schools Property Tax and Budget Increase Question |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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41,401 | 54.60% | ||
| No | 34,431 | 45.40% | ||
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- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Shall the Governing Board of Mesa Unified School District No. 4 of Maricopa County, Arizona, adopt a General Maintenance and Operation Budget which includes an amount that exceeds the revenue control limit specified by statute by 15% for fiscal year 2020/2021 and for six subsequent years as described below? The budget override authority represents an extension and increase of the existing 10% budget override authority which is scheduled to phase down by one-third for fiscal years 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 if the voters do not approve the continuation. The amount of the proposed budget increase of the proposed budget over the alternate budget for fiscal year 2020/2021 is estimated to be $34,087,454. In fiscal years 2020/2021 through 2024/2025 the amount of the proposed increase will be 15% of the District’s revenue control limit in each of such years, as provided in Section 15-481(P) of the Arizona Revised Statutes. In fiscal years 2025/2026 and 2026/2027, the amount of the proposed increase will be 10% and 5%, respectively, of the District's revenue control limit in each of such years, as provided in Section 15-481(P) of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Any budget increase authorized by this election shall be entirely funded by a levy of taxes on the taxable property within this school district for the year for which adopted and for six subsequent years, shall not be realized from monies furnished by the state and shall not be subject to the limitation on taxes specified in Article IX, Section 18, Constitution of Arizona. Based on the current net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes, to fund the proposed increase in the school district's budget would require an estimated tax rate of $1.86 per one hundred dollars of net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes and is in addition to the school district's tax rate that will be levied to fund the school district's revenue control limit allowed by law.[3] |
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Support
Yes for Mesa Schools led the support campaign for the measure.[4]
Supporters
- Mayor John Giles (Nonpartisan)[5]
- Vice Mayor Mark Freeman (Arizona) (Nonpartisan)[5]
- Councilmember David Luna (Nonpartisan)[5]
- Councilmember Francisco Heredia (Nonpartisan)[5]
- Councilmember Jen Duff (Nonpartisan)[5]
- Councilmember David Luna (Nonpartisan)[5]
- Councilmember Kevin Thompson (Nonpartisan)[5]
Arguments
- Sally Harrison, chief executive officer of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, said, "Quality education plays a significant role in our ability to attract economic opportunities and jobs. Mesa has done well to grow its impact on secondary and higher education over the past few years, but at the core, our strength is in our public schools. We need to continue to support our local schools by voting Yes on the budget increase election this November."[5]
Opposition
If you are aware of any opponents or arguments that should be listed here, please e-mail them to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Background
Mesa Public Schools
- See also Mesa Public Schools
At the time of the election, Mesa Unified School District served over 63,000 students. In 2018, voters approved $300 million in bonds for Mesa Public Schools, but did not approve Mesa Public Schools Budget Override Question, which also concerned a 15 percent override of the district's budget.[6]
Budget override
- See also: School bond and tax elections in Arizona
Arizona state law requires a budget override election to be called at least 90 days before the election when "a proposed budget of a school district exceeds the aggregate budget limit for the budget year." A budget override may apply to one fiscal year or consecutive fiscal years.[7]
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the Mesa Public School Board on April 23, 2019.[8]
See also
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External links
Support |
OppositionSubmit links to editor@ballotpedia.org. |
Footnotes
- ↑ AZ Central, "Maricopa County bonds and overrides: 26 school districts ask for local taxpayer money," published October 16, 2019
- ↑ Office of the Maricopa County School Superintendent, "Mesa Unified School District No. 4 of Maricopa County, Arizona 2019 Informational Ballot," accessed October 6, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Yes for Mesa Schools, "Home," accessed October19, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Yes for Mesa Schools, "Supporters," accessed October19, 2019
- ↑ East Valley Tribune, "Chandler, Mesa schools’ money requests head to voters," published October 6, 2019
- ↑ Arizona School Finance Law, "Statute 15-481," accessed October 22, 2019
- ↑ Mesa Public Schools, "Information," accessed October 21, 2019
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