West Valley, Arizona
Continue the Quality is supported and run by members of Continue the Quality Political Action Committee. The committee is made up of parents and community members in support of the three districts efforts to renew their overrides.
Do you live in the Litchfield Elementary, Avondale Elementary or Agua Fria High School District? If so, read on. Whether or not we have school aged children, there are some very important measures on the ballot in November that we must support.
The Litchfield Elementary, Avondale Elementary, and Agua Fria High School Union School Districts all will have measures on the ballot in November to continue in place existing "maintenance and operations" budget overrides. The passage of the overrides would not result in any new taxes. Their failure, however, will result in drastic cuts totaling over $10 million, including the elimination of dozens of teaching positions and important programs.
Why are these budget overrides so critical to our schools? The State of Arizona ranks among the lowest in the country in terms of per/pupil funding; by most estimates we are 49th out of 50 (even with our overrides). In growing school districts, the problem is particularly dire, as the state does not provide schools with funding for additional students until after they have been in school for one year. School districts in Arizona, therefore, rely on budget overrides to fund essential programs and services.
The three districts' existing M & O budget overrides have been in place for over a decade. If we do not VOTE YES to renew the overrides, we will lose essential programs and services that our community has enjoyed for longer than most of us have lived here.
Why should we care about the M & O Overrides if we do not have school aged children? If you have young children who are not yet in school, the answer is easy - it is far easier to renew an existing override than it is to convince voters to authorize a brand new one.
If you do not have children, or your children are grown, you still have a stake in the future of education in our community. There is a direct correlation between per pupil spending and student achievement. Better schools mean higher property values and a stronger, more financially healthy community. Our community - even those without school aged children - needs these overrides to pass.
What happens if the proposal to combine the three school districts passes? Complicating matters is a ballot measure asking voters to approve or reject the unification of the three school districts into one unified district. Unified or not, our school districts need our support for the M & O overrides. Indeed, unified districts rely upon overrides as much as other districts. If both the overrides and the unification measure pass, the excess M &O budget capacity will be built into the budget of the unified school district.
State law prohibits school districts from using any school district resources to advocate for the passage of any election measure. It is therefore the responsibility of all of us who care about good schools, to share with our friends, neighbors, and colleagues just how important these measures are to our schools. That is why a group of parents formed the "Continue the Quality Committee." The Continue the Quality Committee now has over 200 volunteers and working closely with parent groups at each of the schools and the business community to make sure that the overrides pass. In fact, the overrides failed once before because too few people knew what they were and that they were on the ballot.
What can you do to help support these critical measures?
• Please spread the word about the importance of supporting these measures;
• encourage anyone who is not already registered to vote in your district to do so;
• consider making a financial donation to the campaign to pass the overrides; or view below how WestValleyParent.com is supporting Continue the Quality!
• get involved in the campaign; and most importantly,
• vote YES in November to the renewal of the overrides.
With competition from abroad for jobs rapidly expanding, this is no time to be cutting back on education funding. In this global economy, it is more critical than ever to invest in education. We must start by supporting these overrides.
For more information, please visit www.continuethequality.com.
WestValleyParent.com is supporting the Continue the Quality initiative!
1. Tell a friend about WestValleyParent.com!
For every new registered user subscribing from August 14, 2008, through August 31, 2008, WVP will donate $.25 directly to Continue the Quality.
2. Find and post a family friendly event!
For every family-friendly event posted on the WestValleyParent.com event calendar by one of our registered subscribers, we will donate $.50 directly to Continue the Quality.
Events can be for any date range, but must be submitted between August 14, 2008, and August 31, 2008.
