As the current president of our FHUSD PTO, and also a mother of three students who attend our local schools, I just wanted to take a moment to thank the community of Fountain Hills for their continued support of our schools, our teachers and our children.

The town of Fountain Hills recently passed a maintenance and operations override increase from 13 percent to 15 percent for our district, which will allow our school board to give our hardworking teachers a much-deserved pay raise.

In a state that ranks dead last in our nation for elementary teacher pay, 49th for secondary teacher salaries, and 48th in per-student spending, this show of support is so incredibly important.

Not only did this ballot measure pass, it won by the highest margin in 12 years, and I am once again reminded how lucky we are to live in this beautiful town.

I know personally the extent of our town’s charitable nature through our PTO activities and am deeply grateful. Our generous sponsors, local business owners, private citizens and parent volunteers – all of you are so greatly appreciated. Every little bit matters and helps us build a strong community and future for our children.