Funding for a $16 million
engineering technical school could
end up on the November ballot as
part of a $42 million bond issue
being considered to resolve
air-quality problems at Corona del
Sol High School.
Discussion regarding such a
specialty campus came up at a March
27 meeting of the Citizens High
School Financial Advisory Committee,
which was formed to advise the Tempe
Union High School District’s
governing board on approaches to win
voter approval of a proposed bond
measure.
In its final report, the committee
will recommend the amount of the
bonds and identify projects that
would justify any attendant tax
increase.
Pressure from staff and parents
within the Corona boundary, who have
attributed health problems to the
faulty system, has been so great
that the state’s High School
Facilities Board agreed last week to
reconsider its previous refusal to
fund the project.
Among officials attending the March
27 meeting were Steve Adolph,
district superintendent; Diane
Meuleman’s, TUHSD chief financial
officer; Robin Arredondo-Savage,
TUHSD board member; Susan Edwards,
principal at Corona; Dr. Anna
Battle, principal at Desert Vista
High School; and Kim Hilgers,
principal at McClintock.
Janis Merrill, in-house legal
counsel for the district, outlined
legal limitations that would be
faced by committee members, public
officials and PTO members in
promoting the November bond issue
under the state’s Open Meeting Law.
Merrill cautioned that any
violations of the applicable statute
could jeopardize the outcome of the
bond vote.
The group also heard results of a
recent survey of voters within the
district by Paul Ulan of Primary
Consultants. Of 28,000 parents of
children registered to vote, only 8
percent turned out in the last
election, the results showed.
Ulan also noted that 43,000 early
ballots will be mailed, with an
expected return of 80-85 percent.
Clearly, parents with children have
not been among the majority of
early-ballot voters, a population
which often decides whether a bond
proposal succeeds or fails.
Meulemans, the district’s financial
expert, answered two of the group’s
biggest questions:
How much will the bond cost and what
will it pay for?
The $42 million estimate so far
remains unchanged, according to
Meulemans. As to how the proceeds
would be spent, the answer is more
controversial based on reactions
from audience members at the
meeting.
Of the total, part would also be set
aside for a new roof at Desert Vista
High School; $16 million would be
earmarked for the proposed
engineering school.
Harry Short, a Corona parent and
member of the Kyrene Corridor Rotary
Club, questioned why such an
important bond would include so
large an amount for an engineering
school.
Superintendent Adolph responded that
the district’s preliminary research
indicates a need for such a school
in the Valley, and that it would
attract 500 local and
out-of-district students, providing
additional income the district
desperately needs.
Adolph cited demographics projecting
declining enrollment in the Tempe
district in the near future, along
with a corresponding decline in
revenue from the state to pay
teacher salaries, hire staff and
support school programs.
Meulemans was quick to point out
that any decision regarding which
projects will be included in the
bonds will not be finalized until
the next meeting of the committee.
No one in the audience questioned
the seriousness of the budget crunch
or the district’s need for
additional funding, illustrated in
part by a recent decision to cut
$1.3 million in benefits for
retiring teachers.
Virtually all agreed that the
district needs approval of the
November bonds merely to keep up
with basic maintenance of existing
facilities; otherwise, they said,
the cost to taxpayers would only
increase as building costs go up,
foul air continues to circulate at
Corona and the roof keeps on
leaking at Desert Vista.
Committee members are scheduled to
present their recommendations to the
governing board within the next few
weeks.
