Gila County Superintendent of Schools Linda O’Dell announces that three local school districts have called for special elections to be held as part of the November general election.
The Payson and San Carlos Unified School Districts are requesting voter approval of budget overrides. The Payson district seeks continuation of an existing 10% Maintenance and Operation Budget Override of $1,400,000 at full value. If the continuation is not approved, the existing override will phase out by reducing one-third in 2009-2010 and another one-third in 2010-2011. The average cost to an owner of a home with a full cash value of $199,790, the average home value in the District, would be approximately $81.97 per year.
The San Carlos Unified School District Governing Board has called for a Capital Outlay Budget Override and the continuation of existing 10% Maintenance and Operation and 5% K-3 Program Improvement Budget Overrides. Although property taxes are not collected on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and funds for the overrides are derived from other sources, the district must secure voter approval to exceed the general budget limit for each purpose.
The Globe Unified School District seeks voter approval to join the Cobre Valley Institute of Technology District (CVIT), one of the state’s Joint Technological Education Districts. Authorization to join CVIT and the other participating school districts will allow the Globe district to upgrade, enhance and expand opportunities vocational/technical and career-related coursework for students. Districts currently participating in the CVIT District include Miami, Hayden-Winkelman, San Carlos and Superior. Approval of this ballot item will add a $0.05 tax per $100 secondary assessed valuation, resulting in a $5 annual property tax increase on a single family home with a full cash value of $100,000.
The County School Superintendent’s Office is preparing Informational Pamphlets for the budget overrides for the Payson and San Carlos districts and for the special election for the Globe district. Informational Pamphlets with sample ballots will be distributed to each household in the school district prior to October 6th, 2008, which is the last day to register to vote in the November general election.
For further information, contact your local school district or the Gila County Schools Office at (928) 402-8784. Other sources of assistance with voter registration and elections are the Gila County Recorder’s Office and the Gila County Elections Department, which can be reached through the county’s switchboard at (928) 425-3231.