Maureen McCann
In Arizona, school funding regularly appears on the ballot. Funding of Arizona public schools is complex, heavily dependent on local taxpayer support and increasingly under scrutiny. Funding is also limited. Nationally, Arizona consistently ranks in the lowest five states for the amount of funding per student. The PebbleCreek Democratic Club has been studying this issue.
As residents of an adult community, public schools may exist in the periphery of our concerns. Yet all PebbleCreek homeowners, through our property taxes, support two school districts—Litchfield Elementary and Agua Fria High School District.
School underfunding has been made up, to some extent, by voters in wealthier school districts passing bonds (used to fund projects with a useful life in excess of 5 years) and overrides (used to support day-to-day operating costs). Voters have approved both bonds and overrides for Litchfield Elementary School District and Agua Fria School district.
Another factor in state funding of our public schools is the codification of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs).
Save Our Schools Representative to Speak
The funding of Arizona public schools is complicated and impacts the various communities of the state in vastly different ways. The PebbleCreek Democratic Club is thrilled to welcome a representative of Save our Schools Arizona to speak at the Oct. 8 meeting in the Tuscany Falls Ballroom at 6:45 p.m. Save our Schools Arizona is a non-partisan, community based organization that defines itself as “fighting for strong public schools for a strong Arizona.” Everyone is welcome to attend and to come at 6 p.m. for social time.