What are bonds for?
School districts sell bonds to help pay for maintenance of their property. Kyrene has 2.5 million square feet of instructional space in 26 locations. Bonds support projects such as replacing water heaters or installing updated air conditioning systems when old ones fail. At this time, the State provides Kyrene with less than 20% of the funding calculated as being necessary to maintain its community facilities at the minimum level of adequacy. In the 2010 elections, voters overwhelmingly (70%-30%) authorized the sale of bonds to supplement the funding provided by the State in order to ensure that Kyrene's community facilities are safe, efficient, and provide a quality educational environment.
Why can't Kyrene sell bonds?
Due to the housing market crash, Kyrene is no longer able to utilize the bond approved by voters. This impact was anticipated and legislation has been pursued for the past two years. In the first year, a bill was passed; however, it contained some limitations which prevented districts from being able to act upon it. The bill was cleaned up and proposed as HB 2405 last year where it passed the House 41-19. But it was then held by Senate President Pierce and it never received a vote in the Senate.
What is the impact? The capital finance issues continue to snowball and are now impacting Kyrene's operating budget. This means that Kyrene may have to increase class sizes, reduce programs, and be unable to compete for the best and brightest teachers due to the legislature failing to acknowledge the impact of the housing market crash.
What can I do to help?
The bill will be introduced once again this year. We need your support to help ensure that the bill is passed. Please contact the
Governor's office to let them know how important this issue is for our community.
Current Legislative Contact
We want to thank Legislative District 18 for pledging their full support on the bond issue. For contact information on your State Legislators go to the links below.
If you are part of another district, you can go to link below. It includes directions on how to determine what district you live in and then identify your state senators and representatives.
» November 6, 2012 Election Results
