Marana School Funding

Proposition 411: Marana Unified School District No.6 15% Maintenance And Operations Override

Background

According to the Education Law Center (2023), Arizona ranked 50th out of 51 states and the District of Columbia in funding per student and at the bottom in Pre-K-12 education funding relative to the state’s overall economy. School districts may ask voters to approve bonds and overrides if state and limited federal funds are insufficient to maintain safe and competitive schools. Overrides allow the school district to increase its budget up to 15% for 7 years, but the percentage of that budget phases down by 1/3 in the sixth year and by 2/3 in the final year. Districts often ask voters to approve a renewal in the fourth or fifth year of an override to maintain a consistent level of funding. Marana Unified School District No.6 requests a Special Budget override vote to increase and continue a 10% budget override passed in 2020. The new override is for 15%, for a total amount in the first year estimated to be $15,399,404.

Impact

A YES vote will continue support for teacher salaries, support staff wages, smaller class sizes, full-day kindergarten, music and arts, and advanced and elective courses. The additional funding on top of the existing override will be used primarily for teacher retention and recruitment so that MUSD can remain competitive with and comparable to other Pima County school districts, most of which operate on 15% budget overrides. Funding in the first year will come from an estimated $1.19 tax rate per $100. of net assessed valuation, replacing the existing override being funded by a tax rate of $0.81 per $100 of net assessed valuation. As property values in MUSD are steadily increasing and more homes are being purchased, the secondary tax rate in future years is likely to decrease.

A NO vote will require MUSD to continue to operate on its current 10% override. After 2025 that amount will be reduced according to the present override’s phasing-down terms, and the district would need to start cutting programs and positions. Without the budget increase, MUSD will be at a disadvantage in attracting and retaining quality teachers, which may result in reduced quality of education for its students, making the area less attractive to new residents and ultimately impacting the economic growth of the region.

For more information:

Marana USD Override Pamphlet

Marana USD Override Information