CUSD to ask voters to OK its biggest bond ever

Ken Saingsn, East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.)
·5 min read

Jun. 21—The Chandler Unified School District Governing Board is calling for a bond election this November despite the strong objections of one of its members.

"As this has developed, I've had sort of a growing sense of unease about this," Kurt Rohrs said. "This more than doubles our current debt. We'll have doubled the current debt that we have. The district has declining enrollment, we're not going to be building any more schools. And the schools we have we're below capacity.

"When the public learns about these two things, that we're not growing and we're going to be doubling the amount of debt and paying more for it, I don't think they can be very supportive."

Staff presented the board with four options for a bond election this year and the Board chose option 2B, which is requesting voters to authorize borrowing $487 million.

The other options were $592.75 million, $499.95 million and $451.2 million.

This is the most money the district has ever asked voters to authorize borrowing. The last bond election was in 2019 when voters approved borrowing $290.25 million.

Rohrs moved that the decision on calling for a bond election be tabled until staff revised the options to include just the essential items that are needed. That motion failed when it was not seconded.

The board then voted 4-1 to authorize the vote in this year's election with Rohrs casting the only dissenting vote.

"It's hard for the community to understand 6 million square feet under roof, and how many houses and so forth need to be maintained," board member Joel Wirth said. "Charter schools get $1,000 more per student than we do. That's $40 million per year. They have the extra money. We don't have any choice but to come to the community and hope you will support it."

All four board members in favor of authorizing the vote spoke about the need for the money, specifically in transportation, safety, upgrading aging infrastructure, making investments in energy management and lights that will save the district money over time.

Rohrs said he was not against asking for money for what is essential, though he said borrowing nearly a half-billion dollars was too much to ask taxpayers to bear.

"Taxpayers don't care about tax rates; they care about what's coming out of their pockets," Rohrs said.

Staff said an analysis claims that the $487.45 million being sought would not require increasing the property tax rate CUSD property owners pay.

Rohrs pointed out that the rate may stay the same, but taxpayers would be paying more because their homes will likely be assessed at higher values. State law limits the amount county assessors can raise the value of homes to 5% each year. Most homes in the Chandler area have appreciated at a much higher rate.

Rohrs did not specifically identify any items in the proposed bond plan that he would eliminate. However, he did question the need to build a new school in a district with declining enrollment.

The plan includes funds to rebuild Hartford Elementary School, which was built in the late 1950s.

"I understand that we're not building new schools, but we are," Rohrs said. "We're scraping them, and we're building new schools."

How Chandler Unified bond money would be spent

Chandler Unified School District will ask voters to authorize borrowing $487.45 million in November's election. Here is how much is earmarked for each category and the top three most expensive items being requested:

Technology ($125,120,000)

—Devices for student and staff, $40,628,000

—Software, $32,268,000

—Network hardware, wireless expansion and refresh, $25,843,000

New construction ($124,000,000)

—Hartford rebuild ($35,000,000)

—Reimaging 6 to 8 schools ($30,000,000)

—Junior high rebuild or remodel ($20,000,000)

—San Marcos repurposing or remodeling ($20,000,000)

Non instructional — furniture and equipment ($39,500,000)

—Reimaging furniture for 15-20 schools ($22,500,000)

—Instructional furniture and equipment for new builds ($5,500,000)

—Furniture and equipment district wide ($5,000,000)

Secondary 7-12 ($36,775,000)

—Secondary construction projects ($25,000,000)

—CTED renovations ($10,000,000)

—Flooring at Perry High School ($1,775,000)

Energy management ($30,415,000)

—HVAC repairs/renovations ($3,500,000)

—Chandler High restrooms ($2,200,000)

—Andersen Junior High air conditioning ($1,700,000)

Food and nutrition ($28,000,000)

—Junior high cafeteria remodels ($10,000,000)

—Knox cafeteria rebuild ($8,000,000)

—Chandler High cafeteria rebuild ($8,000,000)

Athletic spaces ($24,000,000)

—Athletic fields, turf conversion ($12,000,000)

—Lights for fields LED conversion ($8,000,000)

—Outdoor/indoor tracks ($4,000,000)

Elementary ($22,150,000)

—Elementary construction projects ($15,000,000)

—Conley roof ($1,775,000)

—Payne Junior High School flooring ($750,000)

Grounds ($12,500,000)

—Inside courtyards, trees, sidewalks, irrigation ($6,000,000)

—Fencing projects ($3,000,000)

—Surfacing projects in front of schools ($2,400,000)

Transportation ($12,000,000)

—Vehicles ($12,000,000)

Community spaces ($10,000,000)

—Pools ($4,000,000)

—Chandler Center for the Arts ($2,000,000)

—Libraries ($2,000,000)

—Other common areas ($2,000,000)

District wide construction ($9,925,000)

—District wide misc. projects ($4,000,000)

—Warehouse renovation phase 2 ($3,000,000)

—Support service new metal building ($2,000,000)

Safety ($9,475,000)

—Safety glass film ($6,000,000)

—Additional security cameras ($2,000,000)

—Fire protection upgrades ($585,000)

Surfacing ($3,690,000)

—Parking lots ($750,000)

—Parking lot Bologna ($615,000)

—Parking lot Tarwater ($615,000)