November 6 – In the summer of 1980, a group of Arizona voters were excited about taxes. There was an anti-tax movement that spread across the US, inspired by the passage of Prop. 13 in California in 1978.
That law limited increases in property assessments and cost the Golden State’s cities and schools nearly $7 billion.
In Arizona, citizens decided to put their own measures on the ballot to limit government spending. Propositions 107, 108 and 109 were intended to put a cap on the amount cities, towns and school districts could spend. They all passed easily, at least by a margin of about 4 to 1. About 250,000 people voted in that special election.
Arizona’s population was approximately 2.7 million people in 1980. Today the population is approximately 7.5 million.
To limit spending, the changes to the state constitution used formulas to arrive at a number. However, these formulas were based on 1979 expenditure.
The formulas allowed for some increase due to population growth and inflation, but critics argued that this was not enough in the face of such rapid growth. Changes in technology were also not taken into account, which has increased costs for everyone.
Chandler’s population was approximately 30,000 in 1980. Today there are 280,000.
The actions of those 250,000 voters 44 years ago are why Arizona voters must return to the polls and allow cities, towns and school districts to exceed those limits.
Residents of the Chandler Unified School District will likely be asked for that authority during an override election next year.
CUSD Chief Financial Officer Lana Berry presented a state-mandated briefing to the board on the district’s position on bonds and override during the Oct. 23 study session.
A bond election is just days away, with voters being asked to borrow $487 million in their names. What’s new, Berry said, is that county officials will recommend the board approve an alternate election for 2025.
It’s a new request, but not unexpected. The district has asked voters to approve the change every four years since 2013. They asked for this every five years from 2003. Voters approved all previous changes.
The override election gives the district council the ability to exceed the limits by 15%. The permit is valid for seven years. However, districts ask voters to approve it every four or five years, because if they don’t, the cuts will be phased in in the sixth and seventh years.
In year six they can only spend two-thirds of the transfer money. In year seven, this would be only one-third of the transfer permit.
“We do it every four years, and the reason for that is so if it fails, you don’t have to cut 5% right away, and then another 5 the next year, and another 5,” Berry said. “You still have one year to get back to your constituents.”
The transfer concerns the district’s maintenance and operating budget. CUSD would have the money, but without voter approval they couldn’t spend the money.
Once the transfer is approved by voters, it will replace the previous transfer authorization. So the seven-year clock starts again. That is why the district returns every four years to ask again.
It’s a similar problem for cities and towns, which must hold elections every four years to exceed the limits set by 1980 voters.
Arizona ranks among the lowest in the state for education funding. Consumer Affairs ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia in education financing this year.
Arizona ranked 51st based on four categories. K-12 Achievements; school funding and resources; quality of higher education; and school safety.
Utah and Idaho spend less than Arizona per student, but score higher in other categories in the Consumer Affairs rankings.
Nationwide, the average per-student expenditure for public elementary and secondary schools is $12,612. Arizona spends an average of $8,770 per student.
New York spends the most per student: $24,040, about $15,000 more per student than Arizona.
