Dysart delivers bond facts as election nears in Surprise

Over my entire career we always used to speak about academics being first and foremost in our school system.”

As Dysart Unified School District officials recently made their rounds through various communities, they stressed what it means to pass a $127 million bond for needs ranging from improving security at sites to facility renovations and building a new elementary school.

Representatives visited a local elementary school, a senior center, and retirement communities where they shared a slide presentation detailing the district’s budget overview before taking audience questions at the five meetings held in Surprise and El Mirage, plus neighboring Sun City West.

DUSD Superintendent John Croteau led the initiative to educate the public on facts about the bond, how it came about, and why it was important for voters to approve the district’s wishlist on the Nov. 5 ballot to fund safety/security improvements, school bus replacements, facility renovations at each site, and land for a new high school plus construct a new elementary school, both to accommodate “hyper growth” in the northwest Asante area.

Croteau mentioned how people may become “experts” on the intricacies of school financing after the disseminated information in the district’s promotional video about the bond. Including the complications of school funding sources and formulas, the video detailed how DUSD receives and spends money allocated by the state, federal and local funds while describing “how your tax dollars work to meet the needs of children in our community.”

The Dysart school district receives 49% funding from Arizona, 16% from the federal government, and 35% from other local revenues, which include property taxes. About 90% comes from state and local sources while 10% comes from federal money, which can only be used for specific purposes according to grant requirements stipulating support for programs such as special education services and the learning needs of students from low-income families using Title I funds.

As a result, allocated money cannot be interchangeable when it is designated for specific purposes and “whatever dollars your school district receives has strings attached.”

The video presentation confirmed the district’s documentation on its website explaining how state and local funding is divided into two primary funding sources: Maintenance & Operations (M&O), and Capital.

The M&O Fund is the district’s operating fund for necessary, “day-to-day” operating expenses including salaries, lights, supplies, transportation services and utilities. Capital expenses are used for more long-lasting items such as buildings, furniture, equipment, technology, textbooks and buses. Dysart receives and spends about 95% of its M&O funds and 5% in Capital.

“We can’t just go buy one last bus to fund a teacher and we can’t cut a teacher’s salary to buy a computer,” according to the video narration. “Now, say the school district would like additional money to buy a better education for students that goes above and beyond what the state and federal government provide. They can go out to their local community and ask for something called an override or a bond, which is a tax on property. Overrides and bonds are very different things and they are not interchangeable.”

There is no such thing as an override bond or a bond override. A bond is designated for capital money. Bonds are similar to loans that are authorized by voters and funded through property taxes, and are used to purchase capital items or make capital improvements, such as buildings, furniture, equipment, technology, textbooks, and buses. The funding can only be used for projects that have longevity and may last more than five years. Bond funding cannot be used for daily operating expenses like salaries, utilities, and supplies. Similar to a mortgage, bonds are repaid over a determined time.

Surprise District 2 Councilmember Aly Cline provided a forum for the district officials to speak at several of her community meetings.

“Just a quick reminder to all of you: We can’t tell you how to vote. We’re not supposed to, and we don’t, but we can educated you on what is happening in the community and ask that you do vote as you choose,” said Cline to residents of The Grand before introducing Croteau at a Sept. 24 meeting.

The audience learned about the benefits of the proposed bond funding desired to support school safety improvements including lockdown systems, securing entry points for safety, adding gates, fencing and key card access; replacing aging air conditioning systems, doing roof sealing and repairs; replacing school buses over 15 years old, building a $35 million new elementary school and getting land for a new high school, both in the northwest Asante area.

“First of all, over my entire career we always used to speak about academics being first and foremost in our school system,” Croteau said. “I will tell you, and I know standing up here, I can tell you that is different nowadays. It is not the foremost thing that we look at in schools. Unfortunately, we live in a society where safety and security for our kids, for our faculty, for our community, everybody is the utmost importance. We take that very seriously.”

While emphasizing “none of this is going to happen overnight if this bond passes,” Croteau explained the vast, itemized district needs involving such things as maintaining cameras installed in facilities and buses as part of a requested $17 million towards safety and security; replacing about half the fleet of buses with antiquated parts that are 15 to 20 years old, and a K-8 elementary school in the Asante area experiencing “hyper growth.”

“I will tell you right now, we have one school in that area. It’s Asante Preparatory Academy. This year, we have made it a K-5 school. It used to be a K-8. We have taken the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders and we bused them to Cimarron Springs. They are bused. They can no longer go to that school because that school was about 1,100 students to an elementary school. We no longer have the room,” said Croteau, noting the district owns the land but just needs to build the much-needed elementary school.

Eventually, that northern area will need a high school, said Croteau, explaining why elementary schools are more apt to be built than high schools.

“Those kids right now, the high-schoolers are bused to Willow Canyon High School. They spend about 40 to 45 minutes on a bus every day and so do our sixth-, seventh- and eight-graders. We need some facilities out there,” Croteau said.

In addition to asking what will be done if the bond fails, residents questioned the superintendent on why they must pay local school taxes, despite living in a retirement community with no children in the schools. Others asked about reported unused, unallocated, and misappropriated school funding to which Croteau pointed out how the proposed bond is the best answer to many of the questions because the district is beholden to government funds still owed and other funds held up in litigation.

An easier and quicker method for the district to request and receive funds is if the community votes for a bond passage, according to Croteau while answering questions about millions in government funds withheld from the district over the years.

“Why is it necessary to have more money if we can’t get the other money?,” Croteau said. “And that’s a great question. So, obviously we’re short that deficit of $60 million. We have some needs in our district. Our only way to do that with the state is to ask our community to support a bond, support a measure to backfill actually some of that money that is missing. If we did have that $60 million at one time, you would’ve seen it cover some of those deficits that I showed you on the board.”

Surprise resident Adrienne Kirschner-Bittman said she has a practical reason for supporting the bond.

“In terms of our living in an adult community, I am happy to pay for the schools because when I go to the store, I want them to be able to count ... If we don’t support the schools that’s not going to happen,” Kirschner-Bittman said. “I am happy to pay for facilities for the kids, for their high school to have games, to have activities, to have cheerleaders, to have wholesome activities that kids in the community can do so that you’re not looking at your doorbell ringer and seeing some kids vandalizing your car.”

El Mirage resident Steve Gilliam has repeatedly gone before the Dysart governing board members to oppose the recent bond request. He had people’s attention and got an applause during the meeting held at The Grand as he stood with a poster board in hand, showing a chart depicting how the district used the last bond money, and how much his property taxes went up from the district’s previous bond and override requests.

Regarding the athletic fields at Willow Creek High School, which he said was built in 2003, and Shadow Ridge High School, built in 2006, he was disappointed at how much money was used for the schools constructed without plans of restroom facilities to accommodate people outdoors.

“For any of you that don’t know, they’re still using porta-potties in those football fields because they weren’t built in to the schools,” Gilliam said, acknowledging that occurred under the leadership of a former superintendent and board members.

“When you’re spending $14,000 a year for porta-potties, which one of you women in here like to use a porta-potty? So they’re still using them ... all these years we’re using that. Another thing, in 2023, they spent $73,000 to the State Farm Stadium for graduation for four high schools. Thats nice. That’s all fluff, but if you think outside the box, you could’ve done something different,” said Gilliam, adding how offended he is about the district spending and its impact on his life on a budget as a retired federal employee. “You guys got that kind of money? I don’t.”

Croteau retorted: “I agree that we need to build restrooms. I think it is ridiculous that we are using porta-potties.”

Meanwhile, the Dysart community is scheduled to pay off its last held voter-approved 2006 bond in fiscal year 2028. If approved, the proposed 2024 bond would kick in over three years, so there is no expected tax rate increase associated with the proposed bond. After the 2006 bond dissipates, it is anticipated that the community may have a decreased tax rate. The decrease will occur because the new bonds issued are for less than in 2006, and the population has exponentially grown since then, resulting in an increased number of taxable properties.

If approved, the 2024 bond tax rate will decrease to about half of the current rate, beginning in 2029 due to the 2006 bond phasing out. Dysart reportedly monitors for and seeks refinancing opportunities and ways to repay bonds to benefit the district taxpayers, although tax rates are estimated and influenced by many factors like Maricopa County assessed valuation fluctuations, according to the district’s website.

Croteau assured stakeholders that the district works hard to maintain all the facilities and keep them repaired by using some of the annual state funding. He said needs beyond those funds, require the district to work with the Arizona School Facilities Division, which receives funding from the Arizona State general fund appropriations.

“Whenever our facilities have a need, our maintenance department works with our SFD liaison to assess and determine if it meets the requirements to be repaired or replaced through their funding.

Dysart has worked with the Arizona School Facilities Division closely, and was approved for various facility maintenance and mechanical repairs and replacement projects totaling $27.9 million over the past two years,” the site noted.

While the SFD is legally obligated to pay for school construction, they require a school district, with all schools combined, to exceed the design capacity district-wide by 20% within three years of the current year, for the entire elementary or high school grade range, but does not consider the varied population density across the district or new home building projects that would impact capacity.

The Dysart school district had a bond question on the 2006 ballot that voters approved for up to $192 million, but the district only sold bonds for $122 million. Bonds are normally sold and then paid back between one to 20 years.

The last bond consisted of the following:

• $30.3 million for enhancing five new elementary schools and two new high schools, beyond the funding provided by the Arizona School Facilities Board for constructing the new schools.
• $12 million for constructing new, replacement buildings for Luke Elementary and Surprise Elementary.
• $27.7 million for upgrades of Valley Vista High School academic, athletic and performing arts facilities.
• $20.8 million for purchasing land and constructing District Support Center and the district office.
• $8.3 million to acquire buses.
• $11.3 million to renovate Dysart Elementary School, Dysart High School academic building and track.
• $10 million for upgrades at 17 elementary schools and two high schools, including constructing shade structures and playgrounds.

Learn about the 2024 Dysart bond at Dysart.org/Bond2024. Detailed information on Dysart’s budgets and annual financial reports are at Dysart.org/Budget.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.

Delarita Ford

Reporter | Surprise

Starting my media career in 1994, rumor had it that newspapers would not exist much longer. Years later, the newspaper is still around and so is my passion for storytelling and capturing life’s moments for the community.