Superintendent Steve Chestnut explains budget options to Torri Anderson and the rest of the board. Photo by Michelle Chance

Draft budget talks progressed Wednesday evening at the Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board Meeting. However, board members are split between three proposals that pinpoint where and how to spend the $1.25 million MUSD has in additional revenue.

Option 1: The “Conservative” Draft

This draft, which Superintendent Steve Chestnut jokingly referred to as “Option Zero” during the meeting because he said “it has zero chance,” ended up gaining some support from board members by the end of Wednesday’s budget debate.

Option 1 bloats the board’s reserve amount to $169,100. It also funds a sick-leave bank, a 3-percent pay increase across the board for district employees, and the cost of its target class size, among another 10 or so areas the district has finished debating.

However, it would not allow for the hiring of a communications specialist nor the funding for after-school activity buses – two issues board members have debated for months.

“This is the most conservative approach,” Chestnut said regarding the draft’s ability to build the reserve above the district’s preferred target of $125,000.

Board Member support: Mixed

Option 2: The “Compromise” Draft

The funding of after-school activity buses in this draft means the reserve would lower to $98,817, below the district’s target. However, this option would still fund items from Option 1 like the class-size target, sick-leave bank and staff pay increase.

Although the after-school buses would be revived in this draft, the frequency would decrease from the board’s previous proposal of five days a week to only two at Maricopa High School.

Board member Joshua Judd called the draft “a good compromise” as it allows students to utilize after school buses, but at a lower cost to the district.

Like the first draft option, the communications specialist position would not be funded if the board adopts Option 2.

Board member support: Torri Anderson, Joshua Judd

Option 3: The “Aggressive” Draft

This draft “is where we fund everything (from Option 2), except we (also) fund the communication specialist at half-time instead of full-time, which we have been looking at in previous drafts,” Chestnut said.

Board President Patti Coutre has advocated for the position for months, in part because she said the hire could help the district’s online presence and attract parents and students to MUSD.

Option 3 pushes the reserve down to its lowest amount of $58,812.

Coutre and Judd said their initial apprehension toward Option 3, the riskiest of the drafts, were eased after MUSD Director of Business Services Aron Rausch expressed confidence in it.

Board member support: Patti Coutre

Board Vice President AnnaMarie Knorr was absent during the meeting so her preference was not given. Board member Gary Miller said he did not want to comment on his draft choice yet, but he did say he supports funding activity buses and “putting more money in our reserve fund.”

Photo by Michelle Chance