Kyrene override called critical if schools are to retain vital technology superiority

Local residents will have another chance this November to pass the Kyrene School District’s capital override to continue funding for the district’s highly praised technology programs.

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Karin Smith, who left the district last month as the district’s chief financial officer, said Kyrene is depending on the override to maintain technology initiatives in the future, as well as to avoid any further budget cuts.

“We have this nationally renowned technology program because of the support from our community,” Smith said.

“We are able to have Smartboards, document cameras, state-of-the-art hardware that students utilize, and our infrastructure – what goes on behind the scenes from the software to the network support.”

In the event that the override does not pass, Smith said, Kyrene will have to come up with $6.8 million to fund staff and equipment implemented in its technology curriculum.

“Our entire technology program is funded by the override,” she said.

“We have minimal amounts (of available funding) with the maintenance and operations budget.”

Smith said 98 percent of the override is used to fund equipment, software and staff to maintain the program. The other 2 percent is used to maintain the district’s school buses.

Last year, the override failed by 96 ballot votes. However, voters passed a $116 million bond for necessary building improvements and maintenance.

“The budgets have been reduced so far that we don’t have any available resources to commit to technology,” Smith said.

The district moved resources from the maintenance and operations budget to the capital override currently in place, primarily with the technology staff, to free up money for other reputable programs and services that Kyrene has been known for, she said.

In order to maintain the staffing costs of the technology program alone would cost the district millions of dollars, Smith said.

If the voters fail to pass the override in this November’s election, residents will have one last opportunity the following year.

“The override expires in June 2013, so we do have one more chance,” Smith said. “But that means we’d have to pay for another election, and it will make it a little uncomfortable considering it will be the last year.”

If the override does not pass within the next two years, the district will have to find money elsewhere in the budget to continue the technology program.

“Our community has an expectation that we have a stellar technology program, and we need to continue to support that,” Smith said.

The override has been funded by property taxes for the past five years, Smith said.

“We already have it in place,” she said.

“We’re not looking to increase it; we just think it’s critical to be able to continue what we have.”

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