Below are more “pro” arguments for the Maricopa Unified School District’s proposed budget override from community members, elected officials and business leaders. No “against” arguments were submitted for the election pamphlet.
The Maricopa Education Foundation strongly supports the MUSD override proposal. Parents, teachers and district administrators agree that class size reduction and instructional technology are the two most critical areas of focus to accelerate improvement in the Maricopa Unified School District. However, these are areas that can only be addressed with additional funding. This override proposal is the necessary path to acquire the funding and deliver results. The proposal for allocation of these dollars explicitly states that they will be used for the addition of up to forty-seven new teachers for class size reduction and academic program expansion, plus a significant investment in instructional technology. With this clear plan in place, we can be confident that the low annual tax payer contribution for this override will be used as designated, thus insuring that our investment is used wisely. The Maricopa Education Foundation’s mission is to promote educational excellence in Maricopa and these override funds are necessary for the District to continue on the path of delivering excellence, all the while strengthening the community at large. This is why we recommend a “yes” vote on the override proposal.
Jeff Kramarczyk, President Maricopa Education Foundation
The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce is pleased to support and encourage a “for” vote on the Maricopa Unified School District #20 10% Override. Economic development and prosperity is essential to our business community and benefits the entire City of Maricopa. However, these endeavors cannot exist without a strong and adequately funded education system. Well-educated students create a well-rounded and powerful workforce, which is essential in attracting new businesses and companies to our City. The mission of the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce is to support our members by promoting commerce in the greater city of Maricopa area through business advocacy and leadership in economic, political and educational development.
Sara Troyer
The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Economic Development Alliance wholeheartedly supports the seven-year override for the Maricopa Unified School District as approved by its Governing Board. The added funds will go directly to the benefit of our children – in the classrooms – and will enable the MUSD to deliver quality education to Maricopa’s students.
Having a high quality public education system is essential to Maricopa’s future. We urge all Maricopans to support this override to help elevate Maricopa’s ability to compete for, attract and grow high quality jobs. Companies seek to locate in communities that have a highly skilled and educated workforce. Highly educated and skilled workers seek to live in communities that offer an outstanding quality of life, including high performing K-12 education systems that prepare our students for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
William H. Stacy, P.E., MEDA Chairman/CEO Electrical District No. 3
John D. Schurz, MEDA Treasurer, Orbitel Communications
Jennifer Alai, Great Western Bank
Brian C. Bernardo, Banner Health
Ron L. Fleming, Global Water
Bryan M. Hartman, Santa Cruz Ranch
James F. Kenny, MEDA Secretary, El Dorado Holdings
Adam Saks, Ak-Chin Ultrastar Multi-tainment Center
Bud Walters, Southwest Gas Corporation
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As Mayor, I often hear the cry for the City to “bring more businesses” to Maricopa for those who wish to live, work, and shop here. Frankly I could not agree more! Yet, I often wonder if those same people know the primary reason businesses relocate to any given city is directly related to the quality of the school system? A school system that will directly produce the pipeline of talent and the skilled workforce needed to support and staff those new businesses.
I also wonder if the average person knows that we are asking our Maricopa students to become qualified to take their place in the technically savvy business world by working on outdated computers & operating systems that are older than they are? I wonder if they realize that we are asking them to learn and excel in an environment where there is only one teacher for every 37-40 students? Hardly a recipe for success!
Today, you and I have the opportunity to directly influence the future of Maricopa’s business community by solving these two financial impediments for our student pipeline.
Please join me in voting YES on the MUSD Override and support Maricopa’s students, residents and businesses!
Christian Price, Mayor, City of Maricopa
I am proud of Maricopa and its community spirit. Our victories in the battle of the burbs the last three years are testament to the fact we are stronger when we come together for a common cause! The common cause right now is the MUSD#20 Override!
The Override will provide for $500,000 in technology funding. In this ever-changing world we all know technology needs to be replaced frequently, but some of the children at MUSD are younger than the computers they are using. Some of the outdated hardware and software is no longer supported by the vendors and must be replaced for us to be competitive.
Secondly, The Override will provide up to 50 new teachers for MUSD#20. Seven of those teachers will help establish a new alternative high school program, because some students have difficulty being successful in a large comprehensive high school like MHS. The remaining teachers will be spread among our schools to give us a competitive advantage when it comes to providing gifted programs as well as reducing overall class sizes.
We can do better, we should do better, we must do better, so let’s do better by voting YES on November 8th.
Vincent Manfredi, Maricopa City Council Member & Vote Yes Maricopa Campaign Chair
The MUSD Governing Board requests voters to vote YES on the proposed budget override. The override would increase student academic opportunities, improve our school district and result in a stronger community.
The proposed 10% seven-year budget override would improve our students’ education by reducing K-12 class sizes, adding additional academic programs, and improving instructional technology for students.
Everyone in Maricopa wins with a strong public school system. Thank you for your support of our students and our community. Please join us in voting yes.
Patti Coutre, President
AnnaMarie Knorr, Vice-President
Torri Anderson, Member
Rhonda Melvin, Member
Dr. Gary Miller, Member
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