Dear Parents, Neighbors and Friends of Public Education,
I know this is a long email, future email alerts will be brief, but this issue is of critical importance to our district and I felt that a little background was necessary. With the beginning of a new year, we are asking you to take a stand for our schools. Next year, Scottsdale Unified and many, many other districts in the state will face millions of dollars in budget shortfalls if the state does not act this year. We need you to raise your voices to ask for what is right for our kids, right for our schools and right for this state. Here is a quick history of the problem we face:
* In 1985, the State of Arizona froze the amount of utilities costs that would be funded through the State General Fund. Prices for utilities – specifically natural gas – had skyrocketed, and the State did not want to be liable for those ever mounting costs. School districts were told to recoup the difference by tacking on a local property tax.
* Over the last 20+ years, school districts have seen double digit increases in electricity rates, and have had to keep up with an ever growing demand for electricity in the classroom for phone lines and computers. This has dramatically increased our “excess utility” bill, the amount we have to pay out of local taxes above the 1985 freeze rate we are funded by the State.
* In 2000, Arizona voters passed Prop. 301, ostensibly to increase teacher salaries. Unknown to many was a provision, a citizen referendum, that discontinued the ability of school districts to tax the local homeowner for the unmet school utility needs. We passed a measure that mandated that the state pay our teachers more, and simultaneously ended our ability to locally raise money to pay our utility bill above the State’s 1985 level of funding. This portion of the law goes into effect in 2010. The costs to SUSD will be close to $6 million. 90% of the district budget is devoted to salaries and benefits, so large budget cuts quickly make their way to teachers in the classroom. We potentially face the equivalent of the loss of 125 teachers in our district. Unless the Legislature makes a decision on this issue by the end of the 2008 Legislative session, our School Board – because of its budget cycle – will be forced to make the cuts next year. This is our year to seek action .
WE NEED YOU TO ASK OUR STATE LEGISLATORS TO FIND A SOLUTION! The State doesn’t pay our school utilities bill, and now we cannot even raise the money ourselves. Something must be done to insure that our kids have both lights on and teachers there when they arrive at school!
SUSD has been particularly mindful of this problem and has done its best to reduce energy costs. Last year alone, we decreased our electricity use by 1.2 million kilowatt hours – and we still saw a cost increase of $400,000 for the year! Scottsdale Unified has been trying to do everything right, but we will face a catastrophic budget cut if the State does not step up to fix this problem NOW.
Please take 5 minutes today to e-mail both of your State Representatives and your State Senator to urge them to make excess utilities a budgetary priority. Our students need your advocacy on their behalf to make sure that they get adequate funding for their classrooms.
Below is a list of the Representatives and Senators whose districts include part of Scottsdale Unified. If you are not sure who represents you, simply log onto http://www.azleg.gov/ Scroll down to “General Information” and click on “Legislative Maps.” Once you have identified your representatives, write a quick note or make a quick call to let them know that fixing this problem is important to you. Be sure to sign your note with your name and address.
Your message can be simple: Please find a solution to excess utilities and make sure that our students have lights, teachers, and technology in their classrooms. Our children deserve no less! A sample letter is attached for your convenience.
Your voice DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE, so please take just a few minutes to impact the future of education in our State. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Thanks for taking the time to care!
Francesca Thomas
Scottsdale Parent Council VP- Legislative Liaison
vplegislation@scottsdaleparentcouncil.org
SAMPLE LETTER:
* If you are e-mailing, please put “Please fix excess utilities” in the subject line*
Dear (my representative),
I am writing to express my deep concern about the issue of excess utilities. As you know, beginning in 2010, our district and many others across the State will lose our local ability to fund our utility bills above the 1985 levels that the State pays. The loss of these funds- close to $6 millions for Scottsdale Unified School district- will be catastrophic for our schools.
Please do everything you can to make sure this issue gets addressed this year. Although we do not need any money this year, our School Board will begin the 2010 budget process next Spring and we need to know that funds will be available to pay the electric, water and phone bills at our schools.
Thank you for representing the interests of our children and for moving Arizona forward.
Sincerely,
(Your name and address)
Scottsdale Parent Council 2008 Legislator Roster
Governor Janet Napolitano
602.542.4331
azgov@az.gov
District 8 State and House Representatives
Carolyn Allen-R
Ph: 602-926-4480
email: callen@azleg.gov
Michele Reagan-R
Ph: 602-926-5828
email: mreagan@azleg.gov
John Kavanagh-R
Ph: 602-926-5170
email: jkavanagh@azleg.gov
District 11 State and House Representatives
Barbara Leff-R
Ph: 602-926-4486
email: bleff@azleg.gov
Adam Driggs-R
Ph: 602-926-3016
email: adriggs@azleg.gov
Mark Anthony DeSimone-D
Ph: 602-926-3037
email: mdesimone@azleg.gov
District 17 State and House Representatives
Meg Burton Cahill-D
Ph: 602-926-4124
email: mburtoncahill@azleg.gov
Ed Ableser-D
Ph: 602-926-4118
email: eableser@azleg.gov
David Schapira-D
Ph: 602-926-3028
email: dschapira@azleg.gov
Scottsdale Parent Council
c/o SUSD Education Center
3811 N 44th Street
Phoenix
Arizona 85018
United States
