1 9 Gilbert Unified School District No. 41 of Maricopa County, Arizona
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9 1 ’ Informational Pamphlet Gilbert Unified School District No. 41 N of Maricopa County, Arizona SPECIAL ELECTION O NOVEMBER 5, 2019 Compiled and issued by I STEVE WATSON Maricopa County School Superintendent (Spanish version begins on page 31) T Folleto Informativo C Distrito Escolar Unificado Núm. 41 de Gilbert del E Condado de Maricopa, Arizona ELECCIÓN ESPECIAL L EL 5 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2019 Recopilado y publicado por STEVE WATSON Superintendente de Escuelas del Condado de Maricopa E (La versión en español empieza en la página 31) TO THE VOTERS OF THE DISTRICT On Tuesday, November 5, 2019, the voters of Gilbert Unified School District No. 41 (“District”) will have the opportunity to decide two important fiscal matters for the District. First, you will be asked to authorize the issuance and sale of not to exceed $100,000,000 principal amount of ad valorem tax bonds of the District in the form of class B general obligation bonds and related matters. Your responsibility will be to indicate whether you believe authorization for the District to issue these bonds should be approved or should not be approved. Next, you will have the opportunity to decide the level of expenditures in the District. Arizona law places restrictions on how much a school district may spend in each fiscal year without procuring explicit approval of the District’s voters in an election. Your responsibility will be to indicate whether you believe the District should operate within existing expenditure limitations or be allowed to exceed the limitation. Note that, if the special override election increase is approved, that amount will be added to the school district budget for the number of subsequent years as specified on the ballot. This information pamphlet has been prepared in order to provide voters with factual information regarding this special election. Please study the materials contained in this booklet carefully so you will be informed regarding your decisions on these issues. Sincerely, Steve Watson Maricopa County School Superintendent (Information Pamphlet publication is mandated by Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 15-481, 15-491 and 35-454. School districts are mandated to distribute information pamphlets to all households within the District in which a qualified elector resides.) 2 GILBERT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 41 BOND ELECTION NOVEMBER 5, 2019 A STATEMENT FROM THE DISTRICT AS TO WHY THE SPECIAL BOND ELECTION HAS BEEN CALLED Capital funding from the State of Arizona to Gilbert Public Schools for instructional materials, textbooks, school based equipment, repair and maintenance of school facilities as well as technology and student vehicles has been reduced from about $17.7 million in school year 2013/2014 to about $5.8 million in school year 2018/2019, a reduction of over 67%. Full funding of capital or District Additional Assistance (DAA) for Gilbert Public Schools over the past five years amounted to a cumulative loss in capital funds of $65.7 million. For school year 2019/2020, the DAA is being restored to a level of about 65% of full funding providing increased resources for instructional and operational materials and equipment that are not eligible to be paid for with Bond dollars. The Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board is proposing a Bond election allowing us to fund major capital needs as follows: Install Security Camera System and Infrastructure District-wide $ 10.0 million Renovate and Upgrade Performing Arts and Athletic Venues 5.6 million Reinvest in School Facilities 61.0 million Enhance Technology Infrastructure and Audio Visual Equipment 19.4 million Replace Student Transportation Vehicles and Equipment 4.0 million TOTAL $ 100.0 million Today, the average age of District school buildings exceeds 25 years requiring the replacement of major building components. In order to identify and quantify these replacements and renovations, the District continues to follow a 20 year Master Capital Plan identifying end of life building components for replacement to include roofs, HVAC equipment, flooring, playgrounds, lighting and parking lots/bus lanes. This Master Capital Plan has been updated annually reflecting updated facility assessments and newly identified needs. The outstanding reinvestment needs exceed $200 million. The proposed Bond authority includes funding to refurbish performing arts and athletic facilities ensuring the continued success of Gilbert Public 3 Schools students. Addressing these facility spaces have been postponed due to limited financial resources and focusing those resources on academic programs. Safe and supportive schools is one of the proposed Gilbert Public Schools Strategic Planning priorities shared with the Governing Board this past spring. This Bond will include funding to improve student safety through the implementation of a comprehensive security camera system, upgraded fencing, as well as increasing the safety of all school entry points and front offices at all forty of the District schools. Technology is increasingly important to both educational priorities and operational efficiencies in GPS. Bond funds will improve the educational environment by adding modern audio-visual equipment and enable the continued modernization of the technology infrastructure. This equipment is expected to promote increased learning and enable collaboration in the classroom. Finally, a small allocation of funds will replace student transportation vehicles and equipment. About 10,000 students are transported daily through 60 square miles and others are transported to and from extracurricular activities. This small allocation will provide the resources needed to replace aging vehicles over the next eight years. The average annual tax impact associated with the bonds is estimated to be $0.4553 per $100 of assessed valuation used for secondary property tax purposes. For an owner of a home valued at $206,125, the average home value of the District, the estimated tax impact is $7.82/month. This tax rate, however, is not expected to be over and above the existing tax rate associated with the existing outstanding bonds. It is anticipated that as bond debt service on outstanding bonds today is retired, new bond sales will fill in the debt service resulting in the secondary tax rate being flat over the next 10 years. With passage of both the maintenance and operation override and the bond, the District estimates the combined school year 2020/2021 secondary tax rate will not exceed $2.31 – a value amongst the lowest in the East Valley. 4 Payment Schedule for District's Outstanding Bonds and Proposed School Improvement Bonds Bonds Currently Outstanding and Authorized (a) Proposed Bonds to be Issued from 2019 Authorization (b) Projected Combined Limited Net Fiscal Assessed Estimated Secondary Year Valuation (c) Principal Interest Debt Service Principal Interest (d) Debt Service Tax Rate (e) Debt Service Tax Rate (e) 2020 $2,168,924,120 $19,055,000 $4,889,822 $23,944,822 $23,944,822 $1.10 2021 2,168,924,120 20,355,000 4,122,869 24,477,869 24,477,869 1.13 2022 2,168,924,120 21,700,000 3,660,483 24,360,483 24,360,483 1.12 2023 2,168,924,120 12,850,000 2,767,519 15,657,519 $1,575,000 $2,819,444 $4,394,444 $0.20 20,051,963 0.92 2024 2,168,924,120 9,500,000 2,161,363 11,701,363 5,900,000 2 ,421,250 8 ,321,250 0.38 20,022,613 0.92 2025 2,168,924,120 6,620,000 1,706,363 9,866,363 8,010,000 2 ,126,250 1 0,136,250 0.47 20,002,613 0.92 2026 2,168,924,120 6,565,000 1,395,363 7,440,363 8,010,000 4 ,545,194 1 2,555,194 0.58 19,995,557 0.92 2027 2,168,924,120 5,070,000 1,180,913 6,250,913 9,920,000 3 ,825,250 1 3,745,250 0.63 19,996,163 0.92 2028 2,168,924,120 5,475,000 978,313 6,453,313 10,220,000 3 ,329,250 1 3,549,250 0.62 20,002,563 0.92 2029 2,168,924,120 5,780,000 762,363 6,542,363 10,635,000 2 ,818,250 1 3,453,250 0.62 19,995,613 0.92 2030 2,168,924,120 6,070,000 528,138 6,598,138 11,100,000 2 ,286,500 1 3,386,500 0.62 19,984,638 0.92 5 2031 2,168,924,120 6,385,000 274,438 6,659,438 11,500,000 1 ,731,500 1 3,231,500 0.61 19,890,938 0.92 2032 2,168,924,120 7,505,000 1 ,156,500 8 ,661,500 0.40 8,661,500 0.40 2033 2,168,924,120 8,000,000 7 81,250 8 ,781,250 0.40 8,781,250 0.40 2034 2,168,924,120 4,000,000 3 81,250 4 ,381,250 0.20 4,381,250 0.20 2035 2,168,924,120 3,625,000 1 81,250 3 ,806,250 0.18 3,806,250 0.18 $125,425,000 $24,427,944 $149,952,942 $100,000,000 $28,403,139 $128,403,139 $278,356,081 Average Additional Tax Rate Per $100 Assessed Value: $0.4553 (a) Includes the proposed sale of the $8,000,000 remaining authorized but unissued bonds from the special bond election held on November 3, 2015. (b) Assumes the proposed bonds from 2019 authorization will be issued for capital improvements in two series with estimated principal maturities from 2023 through 2035 or as needed for capital improvements. (c) Fiscal year 2019/2020 limited net assessed values are estimated by the State.