The residents of Fountain Hills will vote in a special election for the Fountain Hills Unified School District (FHUSD) this November. The election will be by mail ballot only and the local measures are to authorize the school board to sell up to $25 million in bonds on a 15-year amortization rate and sell, lease or exchange the Four Peaks Elementary School property.

The Four Peaks property hasn’t been used as an active FHUSD school for many years. EVIT operated a satellite campus out of the site, but those programs closed in late 2020. Some businesses operate and rent space on reduced rates within the building. The property costs the district approximately $116,101 to maintain from May 2022 to May 2023, and FHUSD Superintendent Dr. Cain Jagodzinski has verbally committed to renters that if the measure passes, the District will assist and allow renters time to relocate.

Jagodzinski pushed for the property sale earlier this year because one of the complaints he heard from voters last election was FHUSD has too many unused assets. If voters give the Board approval to sell, lease or exchange the property, the Board will have 20 years to act on the authorization.

The Four Peaks property hasn’t been subject to much controversy, but there has been misinformation spread about the bond election online and in public forums. It is fair to say the election comes at a poor time, as even the Board discussed the possibility of voter fatigue leading up to their decision to call for a bond election after last year’s measure failed to pass, but some have spread false information about the real costs.

“The purpose of the election is to permit the qualified electors of the District to vote on authorizing the District to issue and sell not to exceed $25,000,000 principal amount of school improvement bonds of the District,” the call of special bond election reads. “The estimated annual tax rate for the proposed bond authorization is $0.26 per $100 of net assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes.”

Jagdozinski said the upcoming voter information pamphlet outlines the total estimate on taxpayers for the bond and interest at $34,108,092, with the expected interest rate at 3.75% to 4% and a safeguard 12% maximum. The Board chooses when to sell and how much to sell at one time.

Some within the community, including recent comments from Councilman Allen Skillicorn, have used the 12% maximum to claim the bond will cost approximately $50 million. The Board can wait for optimal rates if given authorization by voters, however, and FHUSD can refinance rates at a later date if and when they decrease.

“Every dollar spent to pay down the debt means spending at least another dollar on interest,” Skillicorn wrote in an opinion to the Times Independent. “In other words, taxpayers will spend $50 million to get $25 million for our kids.”

Jagodzinski, however, disputes this claim and offered additional clarification.

“One of the things I think people misunderstand about bonds is we don’t have the election in November and the very next day $25 million pops into our account,” Jagodzinski said. “If it passes, the Board has to decide to sell bonds. In the 2013 [bond], there were two sales of four million each for eight million.”

The Bond is for capital funding, which can be used for school facility improvements, repairs, transportation costs and more. The bond is unrelated to staff salaries, which are paid through the maintenance and operations account. Special Resource Officers (SRO) offer protection on campuses but are state funded through grants. Jagodzinski applied to get more SROs in FHUSD schools, but the district was not granted approval.

For those interested in additional details, voter information pamphlets will be available soon. Visit elections.maricopa.gov to see additional voter information and frequently asked questions about elections. Visit fountainhillsschools.org to learn more about FHUSD elections, financials and more.

The last day to register to vote in this election is Monday, Oct. 9. Ballots will be mailed to qualified electors no earlier than 27 days prior to the election and no later than 15 days before the election.