Vote ‘yes’ on budget override

Maricopa Unified School District is at a crossroads. The district will face a diminished budget of $29 million next fiscal year, down from a $40 million budget a few years ago. With the budget declines, the school board and administration have done more with less. They have cut back on supporting staff and teaching positions. The school district employees, including teachers, have been asked to do more duties and still provide quality education.

In difficult times, doing more with less is standard procedure for any entity whether it is a business, municipality or school district. The challenge is facing the future with even less revenue. Something will have to give. Jobs are usually reduced and the business entity may eventually go out of business. With all that said, education should be different.

MUSD’s business is to educate our children. Our school district has been fighting an uphill battle over the years. Much of it may be its own fault of decision making. And yet, still much of it is a negative perception that continues to be a thorn in its side.

While many parents may choose to send their children to other districts, or even educate them locally in a charter school, most Maricopa children still attend MUSD. I support all parents’ decisions to do what they feel is best for their children. We naturally want our children to have opportunities to succeed. I can’t help but ask, “With the challenges the district is facing just to maintain its current path if voters approve the override on the Nov. 8 ballot, what would happen for the remaining children if the override doesn’t pass?”

And when I seek an answer that makes sense, the result isn’t positive. I think many would say we have been fighting an uphill battle as it is, and then to not have sufficient funds to even fight that battle would have catastrophic effects on the schools and community. The superintendent and MUSD school board will need to make even more difficult decisions.

The $4 million the override will provide currently comes from the Ak-Chin grant (second year of a two-year grant), state funds, and the remaining year of the override that passed before the current recession. I know that making tough decisions is part of their job, and difficult economic times call for tough economic decisions. I just don’t believe we need to “handcuff” a yet to be named superintendent, into making decisions that are not good for our community, whether we have children enrolled at MUSD or not.

With 85 percent of the district’s budget going to teachers’ salaries, 100 teaching positions are now on the line. Teachers are the heart and soul of the education our community needs to be viable. If the quality of education is a concern, it brings all of us down. If we don’t have a genuine pride in our school district, it shows in other areas. Will more families consider moving here? Will potential businesses follow? Will more local jobs be inhibited or aided? If inhibited, will remaining families choose to stay or move? I don’t want to leave those questions to chance. I believe that it is in our best interest to make sure Maricopa Unified School District is a viable option for all our children.