Sunnyside schools' budget overrides win voter approval

Sunnyside Unified School District's voters supported two override requests on the ballot.

Proposition 498 was favored by a 63% to 37% margin, while Proposition 499 was leading 60% to 40%, with 95% of precincts reporting results.

Proposition 498 asks for an 8% maintenance and operation budget override, while Proposition 499 is for an additional assistant budget override.

Proposition 498 would generate about $8 million, and Proposition 499 would bring in $7 million or 10% of the district’s revenue control limit in fiscal year 2024-25 and the next six fiscal years.

The overrides would be funded by property tax levies.

Under Proposition 498, tax rates will increase by $1.36 per $100 of assessed valuation. The estimated cost to an owner of a home with a limited property value of $100,210, the average home value in the district, would be about $136 per year.

Under Proposition 499, tax rates will increase by 1.18 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. For example, the owner of a single-family home valued at $80,000 would pay an extra $94.31 annually.

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Money for capital improvements includes security and safety upgrades and “modernization of aging school buildings.”

Other areas slated to receive funds include:

• Maintenance of athletic and fine arts facilities.
• Classroom technology, curriculum, furniture and equipment.
• Buses and service vehicles maintenance.

None of the money will be used for administrators’ salaries, the district emphasizes.

If Proposition 498 hadn't passed, the district faced "inevitable budget cuts of approximately $8 million from its operating budget. Programs and critical services to students will be reduced or eliminated and salaries will not be competitive with other area school districts,” Sunnyside Unified says in an online Q&A about the election.

If Proposition 499 had failed, the district would "not have enough funds to maintain an updated transportation fleet, acquire new equipment to support student learning, and provide much needed improvements to keep our school facilities safe and modern,” it says.