Citizens for Havasu Schools
HISTORY August 2015, 200 LHC citizens came together at a town hall to identify challenges of the community. The number one identified issue was educator pay. From the town hall, a subcommittee was formed calling The group continued to get feedback from residents through Town themselves Citizens for Havasu Schools. That group held a series Halls and surveys. The group decided that a bond and override was of education town halls to share the challenges that LHUSD needed, but these would be developed by community members faces and heard concerns from residents about the schools. with the school district as a partner. Over the last decade, LHUSD The overwhelming concern was lack of funding. At that point, has been unable to garner community support for two overrides Citizens for Havasu Schools began to organize a community led and a bond, despite the fact that most schools in AZ use these funding measure. funding mechanisms. To better engage the community, Citizens for Havasu Schools has taken it upon themselves to lead the way in promoting and asking for support from community members for this needed funding. Citizens for Havasu Schools
26 THE JOURNEY SO FAR LEVELS OF • • AUGUST ‘15 MARCH ‘16 ENGAGEMENT ∙ Town Hall ∙ Thunderbolt Town Hall ∙ Met with Bond Council • SEPTEMBER ‘15 ∙ Education committee Education committee meeting ∙ establishes need for ∙ Subcommittee Town Halls meeting with District to discuss budget • OCTOBER ‘15 • Education committee APRIL ‘16 ∙ 5 BUDGET SUB meeting ∙ Education committee meeting • 15 NOVEMBER ‘15 ∙ Subcommittee COMMITTEE ∙ First Education meets with district to Town Hall at LHHS discuss budget MEETINGS ∙ Education committee • meeting MAY ‘16 ∙ Subcommittee • REGULAR DECEMBER ‘15 meets with district to Surveys distributed discuss budget ∙ and analyzed ∙ Smoketree Town Hall MEETINGS 1 BOND COUNCIL ∙ Education committee ∙ Education committee meeting meeting ∙ Education committee • MEETING JANUARY ‘16 meeting ∙ Education committee • meeting JUNE ‘16 ∙ Oro Grande Town Hall • FEBRUARY ‘16 ∙ Education committee ∙ Starline Town Hall meeting ∙ Subcommittee meets with district to 5 discuss budget EDUCATION TOWN HALLS
LHUSD#1 BOND/OVERRIDE HISTORY FAILED LHUSD #1 K-3 Override 7 ,158 Total Votes PASSED FAILED FAILED LHUSD #1 Bond $29.6m LHUSD #1 K-12 Override LHUSD #1 Bond Paid In Full July 2015 7 ,171 Total Votes by 249 votes $67 .4m 2009 1996 2005 2014 PASSED LHUSD #1 K-12 Override 10% of Revenue Control Limit = $2.5m PASSED LHUSD #1 K-3 Override 5% of Revenue Control Limit = $854k
NEW APPROACH COMMUNITY INPUT is at the forefront of this LHUSD #1 proposal. Our team of committed volunteers spent countless hours listening and learning from our stakeholders. Parents are frustrated with the poor condition of our schools, educators are talking about unprecedented levels of staff turnover, and the business community is expressing concerns over the ability to recruit and retain quality workforce. COMMUNITY BUSINESS PARENTS Our team realized very early on that the more COMMUNITY input and frank discussion derived from the Town Hall series would lead to a more complete and comprehensive understanding of the current state of our local school system. OLD APPROACH/PARADIGM VISION 20/20 LHUSD #1 COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION PLAN
Vision 20/20 was created out of the Town Hall focusing on five areas of need that were identified by community members to address the issue of revitalization. 5 KEY AREAS OF FOCUS FACT 1. Pass School Funding Measure(s) “ Better schools” was the overwhelming 2. Retain Teachers response, by 34% of participants, from 3. Build Robust Career Pathways the August Town Hall for opportunities 4. Develop Sector-Based Training to strengthen and grow our economy. 5. Create a Strong Business/Education Collaborative ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOURISM COMMUNITY EDUCATION & WATER & JOB CREATION & PLACE DEVELOPMENT ENGAGEMENT TALENT SUPPLY
“ A quality local education system is critical to the advancement of our goals in Vision 20/20. With the decline in an available trained workforce, throughout our nation, attracting talent to our community is critical if Lake Havasu City expects to sustain a vibrant economy for decades to come. We must become a desirable place to live, work and raise a family. It all starts by recognizing the importance of education to the talent supply we wish to attract. — Mayor Mark Nexsen
TOWN HALL SERIES Education Town Halls were held at five of the schools to give the community an opportunity to voice concerns and share successes of their local school. Staff reviewed information about the facility and work conditions. Town Halls will continue throughout the fall at the remaining schools. The Fact Sheets were created to better inform the community about school specifics. “ One of the primary drivers for healthcare professionals to choose to come to a new area is the quality of the education system in that community. It is vital that we work to ensure that Lake Havasu has an excellent K-12 system that stands out above the rest. — Mike Patterson | CEO Havasu Regional Medical Center
HAVASUPAI JAMAICA NAUTILUS ORO GRANDE SMOKETREE STARLINE THUNDERBOLT LHHS TOWN HALL TOTAL $1,376,330.65 $1,799,887.96 $1,226,992.19 $1,248,361.13 $1,715,299.82 $1,755, 772.14 $2,730,507.70 $6,048,170.13 $16,145,549.58 STAFF PAY 383 570 348 362 527 635 862 1772 5,459 STUDENTS 32 42 36 29 64 45 67 127 442 STAFF 53,100 51,984 47,273 47,273 57,991 51,255 183,694 272,074 764,644 CAMPUS SQ FT A A A B B A B B SCHOOL’S GRADE
OVERRIDE What is an override? OVERRIDE Overrides are used to provide additional Many school districts will ask voters to approve = funding to support what happens inside school a renewal in year 4 or 5 of an override to or community college classrooms (teaching, maintain a consistent level of funding. If not learning and operations). renewed, the amount decreases by 1/3 in the 6th year and 2/3 in the 7th year. A maintenance School districts may ask for an increase of up and operations override (M&O) supports things to 15% of their budget for their M&O override. such as teacher salaries, benefits, supplies and Overrides are approved for a term of 7 years. general operations. Looking at the needs of the district and survey PEOPLE data, the committee recommends the override be focused on three areas: Source: Expect More Arizona
15% Goals 5 YEAR COMMITMENT Educator Pay 1 MEDIAN HOUSE $250,000 2 Health Benefits MONTHLY $13.22 3 Reduce Athletic YEARLY $158.60 Fees 5 YEAR COMMITMENT $793
EDUCATOR PAY SAN DIEGO $73,530 Median compensation for teachers is not competitive regionally or nationally. NATIONAL AVERAGE $56,310 This year, 50% LAS VEGAS $51,960 PHOENIX $47,230 of the elementary schools lost their principals. The district had 20% GOAL PARKER $33,000 teacher turnover. LHC $31,500
HEALTH BENEFITS $11,304 Annual premiums for employer-sponsored health $9,000 coverage has been rising steadily for the past decade. Lake Havasu Unified School District just raised their per employee funding from $4,800 to $5,300 in $7,300 2015. Unfortunately, this increase is not adequate in comparison to the national average of healthcare (+$2,000) $5,300 costs at $11,304 per employee. CURRENT GOAL CITY NTL. AVG ATHLETIC FEES $800 REDUCE FEE $400
BOND What is a bond? BONDS With voter approval, public school districts or Community feedback about the 2014 bond = community colleges may issue bonds (which proposal was taken into consideration and are purchased by investors) to fund projects the committee reviewed district needs and that have a useful life longer than five years. developed an updated bond proposal that is Examples include building new schools, building focused on safe schools and overall efficiency improvements (HVAC, roof, and lighting), of district operations. technology, school buses or equipment, to name a few. Bonds are repaid over a set period of time. Looking at the needs of the district, BUILDINGS the committee recommends the bond be focused in these areas: Source: Expect More Arizona
Areas of Focus MILLION Maintenance 1 2 Transportation MEDIAN HOUSE $250,000 3 Technology MONTHLY $8.78 Athletics 4 YEARLY $105.36 20 YEAR COMMITMENT $2,107.20
MAINTENANCE TRANSPORTATION Renovate current schools so they are Buses will be used for out of town safe, efficient, and revitalized. Areas educational opportunities, special of focus are Plumbing, Electrical, education services, and Thunderbolt HVAC, Asphalt, Flooring, Roofing, transportation. LHHS transportation Playground Equipment depending will be added if bond and override pass. on needs of school. District vehicles are used to facilitate transition services and work force development, professional development, and for district personnel who work on multiple campuses. $31.785 M $7.3 M
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