Mesa voters approve school override

Mesa Public School district voters approved continuing a budget override by a slim majority.

The property tax will continue on a vote of 23,757 to 17,430, or 58 percent to 42 percent.

The turnout for the override election was 18 percent

"I'm very happy to support the education of our children, and along with it, our future," said Mary Dempsey, who voted for the override Tuesday night at Entz Elementary School in east Mesa.

District officials said the override will cost about $155 in taxes a year for a house valued at $198,000, the average in Mesa.

Since 1995, Mesa residents have approved the override.

A maintenance and operation override allows a school district to exceed its state revenue control limit by 10 percent for seven years.

Voters must approve it every five years to keep it in effect.

The override now amounts to an extra $35.7 million annually for the district.

That money pays for the following: eight technology trainers; 16 school security positions; 136 extra teachers; and 8.8 percent of salaries for the district's 11,000 full- and part-time employees.

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