On behalf of the Fountain Hills Unified School District staff, teachers and students, we are very grateful for the confidence the voters of Fountain Hills demonstrated for our district in last week’s election. Regardless of whether your vote was for or against, we understand the importance of the message we received from our residents the past several months.

We would like to thank the many community leaders who helped serve on the Friends of Fountain Hills Schools Committee, chaired by Jim Dickey. We would also like to thank the Parent-Teacher Organization, the Athletic Boosters and the many others who worked tirelessly in support of our students and staff.

The district will be a very conscientious steward of the nearly $15,000,000 it will receive over the next decade. The school bond will allow us to invest in our facilities to meet the needs of our aging campuses, provide for security upgrades at all of our sites, and enable us to become more energy efficient, which will result in annual utility operating cost savings.

The maintenance and operation override will preserve the effort to provide competitive salaries and benefits, result in additional professional development for our employees, maintain programs that provide career and college readiness skills for our students, and provide for free full-day kindergarten, which is critical in ensuring strong foundational academic and social skills for our primary level students.

Outstanding school districts are vital to the sustainability of communities and result in enhanced property values for residents. Fountain Hills Unified School District No. 98 takes this role very seriously. Our district wants to work in harmony with our businesses and town government to provide a town that truly is a “shining light on the hill.” The community of Fountain Hills has always supported its schools, and we will always be appreciative of the trust displayed last Tuesday.