The Sahuarita Unified School District will ask voters for $40 million for capital purchases.
Following a slash in capital funds, the governing board has unanimously approved a resolution calling for a bond election.
The district has been growing steadily, and it is necessary to address the needs that stem from such growth, said Superintendent Manuel Valenzuela.
βThe goal of the bond is basically to allow us locally to continue positive momentum moving forward,β he said in an interview.
Sahuarita is facing an 85 percent cut in capital funding, which supports buildings, repairing facilities and school buses, he said. The district is entitled to about $2.6 million, but cuts from the state has reduced the capital funding to $400,000 this year.
If passed in November, the $40 million would be used to build new school facilities, make major improvements on existing facilities and replace some school buses, which Valenzuela said collectively travel nearly 3,000 miles every school day.
Some of the Sahuarita school facilities are more than 50 years old, and keeping things in good working condition is critical, he said.
The district was approved for bonds in 2007 and 2009 and completed the objectives, including building an early childhood center, athletic facilities and a swimming pool, he said.
βIn these times of reduced state investment in education coupled with uncertainty, we concluded that if weβre going to continue to thrive as an organization, itβs important to consider taking as much local control of our destiny as possible,β he said.
The $40 million would mean about $60 a year in taxes for the average homeowner in the district, but Valenzuela said that cost would be balanced out by the district not collecting two tax levies homeowners now pay.
βWeβre certainly very sensitive to the financial cost and the sensitivities of what costs are going to be incurred to taxpayers,β he said.
