Final results for the Nov. 2 jurisdictional election have been posted, with local voters offering support for Fountain Hills Unified School District’s Maintenance and Operations Override but denying the District Additional Assistance Override.

The final results show 8,087 local voters took part in the election, a turnout of 41.53%. The M&O Override shows 4,119 (51%) in favor, with 3,892 (49%) against. As for the DAA Override, only 3,639 (48%) were in favor, with 3,926 (52%) against.

FHUSD did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

M&O

Concerning the M&O override, Arizona school districts can increase their maintenance and operations budget by up to 15 percent more, per year, than the per pupil funding level established by the state.

For FHUSD, M&O funds are primarily used for teacher and staff salaries. Other areas bolstered by monies provided by an M&O override include free full-day kindergarten, teacher salary increases, professional development, additional staff for reading literacy support and rewarding staff for exemplary performances.

In terms of dollars, the M&O override voters tentatively approved is for $1.3 million annually, which would be funded the first year by an estimated tax rate of $0.23 per $100 of secondary assessed valuation. That’s broken down to about $23 per $100,000 in assessed value of a home. The average cost to Fountain Hills residents is $86 annually.

FHUSD’s last M&O Override was approved in 2017. A non-renewal of the M&O override would have required about $1.3 million to be trimmed from FHUSD’s operating budget beginning in 2022.

DAA

While M&O provides for salaries and programs, the DAA override helps provide for the physical needs of FHUSD, such as furniture, vehicles, software/hardware, textbooks, online resources and improvement to existing facilities. With the DAA override meeting with defeat, these are the areas expected to take a hit, as FHUSD will need to trim $750,000 from its operating budget starting in 2023.

Arizona districts are allowed to increase their DAA budgets up to 10 percent or $750,000 of the district’s revenue control limit for capital purchases. As with previous DAA overrides, the one voters were asked to consider in the recent election would have provide funding for seven years.

The DAA override on the ballot would have provided approximately $750,000 annually and would have been funded by an annual tax rate of $0.1306 per $100 of secondary assessed valuation. That averages about $48 per year for Fountain Hills residents.