February 9, 2022
Dear Mayer Unified School District Community,
Recently, you may have been hearing stories on the news or radio about the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL), an issue in the Arizona Legislature, which could have a significant impact on the operation of Mayer Schools. I want to give you a bit of history of the AEL and how Mayer Schools may be impacted.
I want to be clear that this is a statewide issue and not specific to Mayer Schools. The required budget cut is not because the District lacks funds or has mismanaged its budget. Even though the District will have the cash available to spend, it will not have the legal authority to spend the cash that it has.
Here is a summary of how we got to where we are today. In the early 1980's, an Arizona constitutional amendment was passed by the voters that limits the amount of money that can be spent on government entities including public school districts. The calculation reflects what schools looked like in the early 1980's, which is very different than today. Because it is an old calculation, the Arizona Legislature has, at times, needed to vote to exceed the voter imposed limit. This need has arisen again.
There are two main factors contributing to the need to once again exceed the AEL this year and in future years. The calculation is based on last year's student count while school districts' budgets are calculated on current year student count. Last year's student count statewide was significantly lower due to the pandemic. In addition, the Legislature recently added money from the Classroom Site Fund, which is used for teacher pay, into the calculation. Previously it was excluded from the calculation.
This year, it is projected that the AEL needs to be exceeded, by $1.2 billion statewide. The money has already been collected through taxes and has been allocated for schools. However, unless the Legislature, which has the authority to override the AEL takes action, schools will not be able to access their money. To date, the Arizona Legislature has not taken any action to allow schools access to their money. The Legislature must act by March 1st to waive the limit. If the limit is not waived, school districts statewide must reduce their budgets by 16%.
The District has been informed that if the limit is not waived, approximately $763,131 must be cut from the District budget. This is a 16% cut and we have 25% of the school year left. With a significant majority of the District's budget going to staff salaries, the District will need to reduce the budget by the above amount immediately. Other possibilities include, closure of school at some point before the scheduled end of the school year. This is due to a lack of authority to spend the money we already have allocated to us.
There is a two-part solution to this issue. First, the legislature must override the expenditure limit as it has done a number of times in the past. Second, the long-term solution is to refer a ballot initiative to the voters with an updated calculation that reflects what schools currently look like.
Again, I want to reiterate that the required budget cut is not because the District lacks funds or has mismanaged its budget. If the limit is not overridden, even though the District will have the cash available to spend, it will not have the legal authority to spend the cash that it has. I will keep you updated as we receive more information.
Sincerely,
Dean Slaga
Mayer Unified Superintendent
Link to download the Superintendent's Letter
Link to contact AZ State Legislators
