Last Tuesday, Sept. 27, two of the five candidates for Fountain Hills Unified School District said at a forum that they do not support the District Additional Assistance Override and Bond proposal that would give over $25 million in funds to FHUSD.

The Fountain Hills Education Association hosted the forum and took a vote on candidates to publicly recommend on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Based on Libby Settle and Madicyn Reid’s opposition to the two proposals, the FHEA recommends Jennifer Amstutz-Guerrette, Lillian Acker and Tara Lamar for FHUSD Governing Board.

The five attending candidates mostly agreed with each other on the other questions of retention, enrollment, social emotional learning, consolidation, and a working relationship with the FHEA. The FHEA was looking for differentiating factors in the candidates to make a public recommendation after the forum, and the question “will you be supporting the Bond and Override, yes or no, and why or why not,” ended up being the definitive issue.

Reid and Settle each said they would not be voting yes on both the Bond and Override election. Reid said she would like to take a closer look at the budget to see if there is any duplicate spending, and Settle claimed she was concerned with the idea that the Board would likely ask for another continuation of the Bond and Override in the future.

Acker, Amstutz-Guerrette and Lamar all pledged their support for the Bond and Override elections. Lamar and Amstutz-Guerrette have been on Override committees for FHUSD in the past, and all three agree that the funding from the Bond and Override would only go towards helping all students and staff in FHUSD.

“I was shocked to hear two no’s,” FHEA president T.J. Buckley said. “Really the way it goes down, is the Board and the superintendents recommended it, so for me, to hear a no, it also made me think for future years, ‘are you guys not going to go for stuff if we need?’ Because it’s going to be hard to make the improvements in the district without the money.”

According to a report published by the Arizona Education Association on April 4, 2022, when comparing Arizona education funding to the size of Arizona’s overall economy, Arizona ranks 49th in the nation for public school funding. Arizona also ranks worst among all states for teacher pay in 2022, earning 5.5% less than the national average per business.org.

Fountain Hills teachers can’t change the budget handed down to them by the Arizona state legislature, but they can ask local residents to continue paying taxes to supply FHUSD with additional funds. FHUSD has relied on Overrides and Bonds for decades like all Arizona public schools, so many FHUSD teachers were surprised at Reid and Settle’s answer.

The current bond proposal is for $20 million and is a continuation of the current bond tax rate. It will not cost Fountain Hills residents any additional tax. The money is structed only to go to capital funds, such as building upgrades and maintenance. This includes installing and improving security measures on campuses, and basic needs like transportation, roofing, HVAC systems and window and door replacements.

The DAA Override would provide $750,000 per year over seven years for FHUSD. These funds can go towards classroom technology, curriculum material and building maintenance.

Neither the bond nor override fund can go directly into staff’s paychecks. Former FHUSD Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney spoke to teachers before the forum began and said that if FHUSD could cut down on utility costs though upgrades, there would be more money to spare for other items, including pay raises.

There are three seats up for election this November on the Governing Board, and the Override and Bond proposals will be on the same general election ballot. The deadline to register to vote is at 11:59 p.m. next Tuesday, Oct. 11. Early voting begins Wednesday, Oct. 12, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.