The Maricopa County School District No. 69 is asking voters next week to approve $203 million of general obligation bonds to renovate and maintain its 45 schools.
The issuer, which is known as the Paradise Valley Unified School District, is also seeking another property-tax override, the third since 2008, which would allow it to collect and spend $5.9 million a year more than allowed under Arizona’s formula. Voters have approved two of the three override proposals.
All the revenue from the override must be allocated to capital needs and cannot be spent on operational expenses. The additional levy would begin with the 2012-2013 school year and last for seven years.
Bond proceeds would finance school maintenance and renewal efforts, improvements to school grounds, and the purchase of furniture, equipment and school buses.
The district would spend 90% of the override revenue on instructional materials and 10% on support vehicles.
School officials said the additional revenues and bond proceeds are needed because the state has cut the district’s budget by $32 million over the past three fiscal years. The USD has not received any school maintenance funding from the state since 2008.
The district’s $286.7 million of outstanding debt is rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service, AA by Fitch Ratings and A-plus by Standard & Poor’s.
