Teachers, administrators and parents of students in Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District and Mingus Union High School District can breathe a sigh of relief:The votes of the Nov. 7 election are in, and both districts’ override continuations passed with a clear majority.
3,457 voters in the two precincts comprising COCSD, or 60.86 percent of the vote, cast ballots in favor of the override continuation, while 2,223, or 39.14 percent, cast ballots against.
4,081 voters in the three precincts comprising MUHSD, or 60.52 percent, cast ballots in favor of the override continuation. 2,662, or 39.48 percent, cast ballots against.
The overrides mean more money for both districts via adoption of general maintenance and operation budgets that include amounts in excess of revenue control limits by 10 percent for 2018-19 and the following six years.
Had the override continuation not passed, schools in the two districts would have been forced to scale back their budgets significantly. According to the voter information provided by Yavapai County Elections and Voter Registration, in COCSD “the fiscal year 2018-19 budget override authority represents a continuation of the existing budget override authority which [was] scheduled to phase down by one-third for fiscal year 2019-2020 if the voters [did not] approve the override.”
Likewise in MUHSD, “the fiscal year 2018-19 budget override authority represents a continuation of the existing budget override authority which [was] scheduled to phase down by one-third for fiscal year 2019-20 and another onethird in fiscal year 2020-21 if the voters [did not] approve the override.”
The override continuation is funded by tax levies on the taxable property in both school districts. Based on the “current net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes,” funding of the increase in COCSD’s budget will require an estimated continuation of a tax rate of 48 cents per $100 of net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes.
Funding MUHSD will require an estimated continuation of a tax rate of 25 cents per $100 of net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes.
These rates are in addition to the districts’ tax rate that will be levied to fund the school district’s revenue control limit allowed by law.
