SUPERINTENDENT'S MESSAGE

February 2018

Dear Parents, Community and CCUSD Staff,

Once again, the Arizona Legislative Session has begun with bills being dropped by Arizona Representatives and Senators and many discussions about the state budget. In CCUSD, we are fortunate that our 175 square miles of school district covers areas of three different legislative districts and representation by 9 different legislators.

District 1 generally covers the middle of Cave Creek and goes all the way up to Yavapai County, including 25 school districts. Legislators are Senator and Representatives Noel Campbell and David Stringer.

District 15 covers the western border of the district in Cave Creek and Phoenix and includes 4 school districts. Legislators are Senator , and Representatives John Allen and Heather Carter.

District 23 covers the eastern border of the district in Scottsdale east of Pima Rd. and includes 7 school districts. Legislators are Senator John Kavanagh and Legislators Jay Lawrence and Michelle Ugenti-Rita.

CCUSD was very fortunate to have support from the majority of the legislators above in securing an additional $1.5 million last Legislative Session to help the district as we continue to mitigate the loss of the District Charter School dollars when the Legislature voted to no longer allow District Sponsored Charter Schools. This affected CCUSD since we had 4 elementary schools that had been converted to charters and therefore, had significant additional funding during that time.

For the upcoming months, the two houses of the Legislature will craft bills they feel are necessary, as well as develop the state budget. The House of Representatives will develop a budget, as will the State Senate. The Governor shared his budget last week. Ultimately, the three must come together to decide on one budget, after negotiations and hours of work.

Once the bills that make it through the entire approval process, including the budget bill, they are signed by the Governor in the spring and become law. These laws are then passed down to schools, agencies and constituents to be followed.

To find what Legislative District you reside in or to contact any of the legislators, go to https://www.azleg.gov/findmylegislator/ .

I look forward to seeing you in our schools!

Sincerely,

Debbi Burdick, Ed.D.