A notable property tax increase proposal will be going to Pima County voters in November. In Proposition 400, Pima Community College asks voters to approve a seven-year property tax levy limit override, the first community college to do so since voters approved the constitutional limits in 1980.


So far, the publicity surrounding this increase has a familiar ring, demonstrating once again the power local government has to "manage the message."

Steve Huffman is coming to the rescue of beleaguered taxpayers who pay the bills for the Tucson Unified School District - and TUSD is not happy about it.


Huffman is a Republican who represents northwest Tucson in the state House. And he has introduced a bill that - if passed - will make it far more difficult for TUSD and 18 other Arizona school districts to increase taxes by virtually any amount with the public unable to do anything about it.

SCOTTSDALE - The possibility of larger class sizes and cuts to music and physical education is not enough to persuade Ray Currens to vote for the upcoming budget override in the Scottsdale Unified School District.


The retired Motorola engineer plans to visit the polls March 11 and vote against the measure.

"I will be there with bells on," said Currens, who wants to see more cuts made in district administration.

SCOTTSDALE - Supporters of the upcoming budget override election in the Scottsdale Unified School District say that it may not be a slam dunk despite their high-profile campaign - and that they're taking nothing for granted.

Although there is no organized opposition, a number of dissenting voices spoke out at a community forum on the override at Scottsdale Community College and said they plan to vote no at the polls March 11.

East Valley school districts already laying off staff and canceling programs now face millions of dollars in new cuts this year as the Legislature narrowly ordered them to roll back their spending on utility costs.


The effect of a bill adopted in a special budget session Monday will force school districts statewide to shift spending by an estimated $10 million through budgetreductions for an area called "excess utilities" that must be returned to their pre-2002 level.

There is a lot of misinformation being advanced about education funding through the misuse of statistics. I would like to straighten out a few things about what’s really been done to fund our schools and where Arizona ranks nationally in meaningful categories.

Are teachers in Arizona really starving? One might have thought so, based on their cries of anguish during this year's legislative session.


Actually, they're not doing badly at all, thanks to the largest tax increase in state history approved by voters in 2000.

Latest figures from the National Education Association rank Arizona 's average teacher pay for 2001-02 at 26th in the nation, far above the “worst in the nation” we hear so often at budget time.

School districts under federal desegregation orders would be forced to ask the state for money to pay some costs under a new plan being considered by state lawmakers.


Traditionally, Arizona has provided an exemption to school district spending limits to raise funds for programs intended to end discrimination against minority students. Seventeen school districts currently use that exemption, including Mesa and Scottsdale unified school districts and Tempe Elementary School District.

Property owners are worried about recent growth in property valuations. Experience tells them that increases in value will translate into increased property taxes next year.


County assessors often get the blame for tax increases, but they have a constitutional obligation to value property at its fair market value.


In addition to ensuring property is not overvalued, property taxpayers need to focus their attention on the other side of the equation: taxes levied by local governments.

It is not uncommon to hear the news media and public school advocates describe Arizona’s public school system as "the worst in the nation" or "bottom of the heap." School funding statistics are sometimes lumped together or used interchangeably, and rather recklessly, in order to make a point for or against some school funding proposal.


One article in The Arizona Republic noted that "Arizona’s rock-bottom ranking in education polls has been a deterrent for some firms considering a move to the Valley . . ." (Sept. 13, 2003).