MUSD override goes down in defeat

The Silent Majority handily rejected the Maricopa Unified School District’s latest override measure.

The measure — which faced little voiced opposition and had no organizations lining up against it — lost by about a 3-2 margin Tuesday.

With all 12 precincts reporting, “No” votes outpolled “Yes” 5,215, or 59.6 percent, to 3,541, or 40.4 percent.

 This is the fifth time since 2009 voters have turned down an MUSD funding measure.

 “Thanks in large part to the leadership of Maricopa Cares Chairman Clint Augustyn and his team of volunteers, there was a lot of forward progress made this year,’’ said Scott Bartle, president of MUSD school board. “Unfortunately, the end result was the same, and the district’s voters said they don’t want to increase the budget for Maricopa’s public schools. MUSD’s dedicated staff will continue to work within its allotted budget – as it does every year – and will work tirelessly to ensure all our students achieve their potential in school, career and life.’’

This year’s measure would have raised taxes for a shorter time and for specific, stated purposes. 

The measure would have been a two-year, 5-percent property-tax override to generate $1.35 million for the school district. 

That rate translates to an additional $57.70 a year on a home assessed at $100,000.

To reduce class size, $650,000 would go to hire more teachers. The blended-learning program would get $250,000 to expand, and $150,000 would go to add technology for classroom-use.