A Message From The Superintendent
Happy Friday everyone.
This week has been filled with homecoming activities. It's been fun to have our students participating in all the activities (see pictures below!) We look forward to seeing everyone at the football game tonight.
This coming week FHMS and MMES have book fairs. Please look for the information from each of the schools. Reading is a great activity for children and adults of all ages.
FHUSD has requested a continuation/renewal of the M/O and DAA override from the voters of Fountain Hills. I wanted to provide you with information about the override elections coming up in November. Here are the facts so that you can be an informed voter. We have two override elections in a mail-in ballot. The ballots go out on October 6th to all registered voters in Fountain Hills and are due back by mail October 25th. Both elections are renewals/continuations of the existing tax funds we receive from our community and are not new or additional taxes to property owners.
DAA ā This is the capital override. This money funds technology infrastructure/hardware/software, instructional materials, facilities upgrades, vehicles for student transportation, and furniture and equipment. The district is requesting to continue to receive 10% of our capital budget from the taxpayers in the amount of $750,000 for a 7 year period. If we do not receive this funding, we will have to cut $750,000 from our budget starting in 2023. We will not be able to continue to support technology, instructional materials, facilities, and transportation with this additional money.
M & O ā This is funding to supplement our maintenance and operations budget. This money funds full-day kindergarten, teacher salary increases, assists us in providing professional development, maintains programs such as AVID, allows us to hire additional staff to reduce class sizes particularly at the elementary, and increases the pay for performance funds for teachers. The district is requesting a continuation of these funds from the community. The money accounts for 15% of our budget - $1.3 million annually. If the override for MO is not continued, we will be required to cut $1.3 million from our budget and will not be able to support many programs, professional development, and may have to reduce our staff.
Iām happy to answer the questions you may have. If you are interested in helping with the override, contact Tana Boersma, tanab@fairwaymc.com.
Enjoy a wonderful weekend. GO FALCONS!!!!
Kelly Glass
Superintendent
Fountain Hills Unified School District
