Dysart Proposition 421: What the $71.4M bond would fund

Voters in the Dysart Unified School District will decide Nov. 3 whether to authorize up to $71.4 million in school-improvement bonds, with most of the proposed money divided between a new elementary school and work on existing campuses.

Proposition 421 would allow the district governing board to issue and sell the bonds, which would be repaid through secondary property taxes. A no vote would block that authorization. The district covers parts of Surprise, El Mirage, Glendale, Youngtown and unincorporated Maricopa County.

The official voter information pamphlet provides a more detailed breakdown than the ballot summary and shows how the district estimated the tax and financing effects.

Where the $71.4 million would go

The district’s expected capital plan places the money in two broad groups:

• $45 million for construction of a new elementary school, including furniture, technology and equipment, plus land for a future high school.
• $26.4 million for renovations, upgrades and safety work at existing schools, including related grounds, furniture, technology and equipment.

Dysart’s Proposition 421 information page says the existing-campus work could include replacing aging air-conditioning systems and fire panels. District materials also identify public restrooms for high school athletic facilities and renovation of the auditorium at Dysart High School.

The $45 million group includes land for a high school, not construction of the high school itself. The district says the new elementary school is intended to serve growth in its northwest area.

A state capital-plan summary included in the voter pamphlet says Dysart had no new school projects approved or held for consideration by the Arizona School Facilities Oversight Board as of June 1. The district says the state formula looks at capacity across the district and can miss growth concentrated in one area.

Estimated property-tax cost

The pamphlet estimates an average annual bond tax rate of 17 cents per $100 of assessed value. Its residential example uses a property value for tax purposes of $215,435 and an assessed value of $21,544, producing an estimated cost of $36.62 a year, or $3.05 a month.

The property figure is the county tax value, which differs from a home’s market price. Property owners can find their assessed limited property value through the Maricopa County Assessor, divide that figure by 100 and multiply the result by 0.17 for a rough annual estimate.

Those numbers remain projections. The financing schedule assumes the district would sell bonds in phases through 2029 at an average interest rate of 5.5%. The ballot language permits rates up to 8% and repayment periods of up to 20 years from issuance.

Under the pamphlet’s assumptions, $71.4 million in principal would carry about $32.6 million in interest, for an estimated total of $104 million. Actual costs would depend on market rates, property values and the timing of each bond sale.

What approval would mean

Approval would provide borrowing authority. It would not make the full $71.4 million available on Election Day or establish an immediate construction start. The governing board would determine when to sell the bonds within the authorization, and the district would still have to complete design, procurement and construction steps for individual projects.

The district’s current general-obligation debt totals about $22.5 million, according to the pamphlet. Existing debt-service payments fall sharply after fiscal 2027 in the published schedule, while proposed bond payments would begin under the district’s phased plan.

How to return a ballot

The recommended mail-return deadline has passed. Maricopa County says completed ballots should now be taken to an open vote center or secure drop box and must be received by 7 p.m. Arizona time Tuesday, Nov. 3. Postmarks do not count.

Voters should sign and date the affidavit envelope. Current locations and hours are available at Locations.Maricopa.Vote. West Valley Post also has a countywide ballot-return guide with identification and ballot-tracking information.

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration. It is representative and is not an official ballot, election form or photograph of a voting location.