Early results showed hope for the approval of Flowing Wells schools’ maintenance and operations budget override and Catalina Foothills schools’ bond and capital budget override but provided a grim outlook for Sahuarita and Sunnyside schools on their bond and override measures, respectively.
The vote was especially tight in Continental Elementary School District as of Tuesday night.
LEADING
Catalina Foothills’ request for a $22 million bond and a 10 percent override in its capital budget, which would generate about $2 million annually for seven years, took a commanding lead in early results.
With the $22 million, the district does not plan to build a new school but intends to use it for making upgrades to facilities. With money generated from the override, the district would provide each student with an electronic device that can access the Internet.
“I assure our voters that we will be good stewards of these dollars,” said Mary Kamerzell, the district’s superintendent.
Also in early results, Flowing Wells voters appeared to be approving a 10 percent override in their district’s maintenance and operations budget, through which teacher salaries and other general functions are supported.
The override would generate $2.5 million annually for five years for the district that serves more than 6,000 students. The top priorities for the additional funding would be to hire more teachers and keep class sizes smaller and fund full-day kindergarten, said David Baker, the district’s superintendent.
“On the preliminary results, we feel very positive,” Baker said Tuesday night.
FALLING SHORT
In the early results, voters were saying “no” to Sunnyside Unified School District’s request for a 15 percent maintenance and operations override.
The override would give the second-largest district in Pima County $11.8 million annually for five years.
District officials declined to comment Tuesday night.
Sahuarita’s early results had a $40 million bond for its school district going down.
“The preliminary indication is obviously disappointing,” said Manuel Valenzuela, the superintendent. “We like to remain optimistic that the additional results could change the outcome.”
Early results from Tuesday night also showed uncertainty for the Continental Elementary School District’s 15 percent maintenance and operations budget override. The Green Valley-area district wanted $515,000 annually for seven years to maintain its operations, including class sizes and staffing, at current levels.
