TUSD desegregation funds at risk

It could cost Tucson Unified School District millions of dollars. The Arizona Supreme Court says state government is not required to reimburse TUSD for the money it spends on desegregation. The district says if it loses those dollars, every student could feel it.

For many years millions of dollars coming down from the State of Arizona helped TUSD cover desegregation costs. But now a ruling from the State Supreme Court could cut off that money and blow a hole in the budget.

After decades under a Federal Court order to force TUSD to end unequal treatment for minority students, the order has been lifted, but TUSD says it still needs desegregation spending to avoid sliding back into trouble.

But now the State Supreme Court has released a new ruling that could keep the district from getting the money it needs. To understand it we need our own education—-on Arizona tax law.

Paying any tax may feel equally painful for you but to the state, taxes are not all the same. There’s primary property taxes, and secondary property taxes. That’s important because TUSD had been getting its desegregation money from primary property taxes. And if your primary property tax bill exceeds more than one percent of the value of your house, in this case for desegregation funding, the state reimburses to make up the difference.

But now the State Supreme Court has ruled state lawmakers were right to take the deseg money out of secondary property tax. For secondary tax the state does not make up the difference so if there is no tax increase there’s no extra money for desegregation.

TUSD Superintendent Doctor Gabriel Trujillo says the ruling could affect about 68 million dollars a year—and says desegregation methods like magnet schools are so woven into district operations all students could feel the effect.

“Guess who sits in those classrooms. All kids, whether they're African American or Anglo or Native American or kids with disabilities— transportation: We pay millions of dollars in desegregation funds for transportation routes in and out of magnet schools, specialized programming like two way dual language, gifted and talented. Who rides those buses? All kids in the district.”

Trujillo says the district is trying to figure out how soon the money could be affected and whether there’s any way to hold onto all or part of it. He says when the district has more answers his office will share them with parents and staff.