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Paradise Valley board previews $624M budget, sets truth-in-taxation hearing
Summary
The Paradise Valley Unified School District board reviewed and approved a proposed FY2026–27 expenditure budget that estimates roughly $624 million in total spending, discussed assumptions about state funding and tax impacts for adjacent-ways projects, and scheduled the formal taxation hearing for June 18.
The Paradise Valley Unified School District governing board on June 4 received a detailed presentation of the proposed fiscal year 2026–27 budget that district staff plan to adopt at the board's June 18 meeting.
Finance director (presentation by Mr. Bergen) said the proposal rests on conservative revenue assumptions: a 2% increase in base support per pupil (the statutory cap), a $41 increase in classroom-site funding per weighted pupil, and estimated cost increases for utilities and medical benefits. Bergen told the board the district's main operating budgets include maintenance and operations at just under $260 million, classroom site funds near $32 million, federal grants a little over $32 million, and unrestricted capital at about $26 million; he summarized the district's overall budget at roughly $624 million.
Bergen flagged two items that will affect local taxpayers: the district must publish a truth-in-taxation notice for "adjacent ways" improvements (ingress/egress, fire lanes and related work) and plans to levy about $2.1 million for those projects. He said the levy would amount to about $1.92 per $100,000 of assessed value — roughly 16 cents per month on a $100,000 assessment — and that the board will vote on the tax increase at its June 18 meeting.
Why it matters: Board members pressed staff on what assumptions were tentative and which were final. Mr. Bergen reiterated that the state budget was not yet finalized and that some assumptions are provisional. He also noted that the constitutional aggregate expenditure limit has been temporarily overridden by the legislature for two fiscal years, avoiding deeper cuts to school budgets but leaving a need for a long-term fix at the state level.
Board action and next steps: The board took the proposal up as a first read and approved the agenda motion to proceed. The public hearing and formal roll-call adoption of the budget and any tax votes are scheduled for the board's June 18 meeting.
What to watch: The district will return with a final tax-rate recommendation and a roll-call vote on June 18; taxpayers and interested parties may review the budget materials posted with the board agenda and attend the hearing.
