Save Apache Junction, AZ Schools
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Save Apache Junction Schools and Give Students a Better Future.
4,500 children. 700 employees. 60,000 community members.
By sharing our message, you can make an impact on children's lives -now and into the future.
You will be helping 4,500 children reach their full potential. You will give them the foundation needed to continue to college, the confidence needed to become involved in the community, and the ability to become productive members of society.
Who Are We?
We are a modest public school district with four elementary schools, one junior high, and one high school serving 217 square miles in Arizona (www.ajusd.org ). Most of the community’s residents have low or fixed incomes, including a high number of retirees. The community has 60,000 residents and 4,500 children who attend public schools.
Historically, our community has been very supportive of education, but we were hit hard in the economic downturn, and with tightened belts, local financial support dried up. In 2007, 2010 and 2014, the district tried to pass elections which would have provided the funds necessary to continue operating optimally. This has resulted in closing three schools, increasing classroom sizes to close to 40 students in some cases, and ignoring much-needed maintenance.
We can no longer pass local initiatives for educational funding. Worse yet, the state repeatedly cuts funding to K-12 education, so we make do with less…and less, and less.
Aging Buildings, Buses and Infrastructure
Because AJUSD has focused budget cuts to maximize dollars to the classroom, it has foregone spending on equipment, building maintenance, buses, and other “discretionary” expenses. The newest bus in the district fleet is 7 years old, and the average age of the buses is about 12 years old. HVAC systems are in serious need of repair. In this region, where temperatures often reach greater than 115 degrees, system failures are disruptive and dangerous.
Basic repairs and replacements won’t wait much longer, but there’s no place for them under the current budget. The district is faced with the need to create a capital contingency fund for these expenses in order to avoid catastrophic system failures.
Frozen Incomes for Teachers
For years, the district’s teachers have worked with frozen wages. Teachers are paid 9% less than equally experienced teachers from communities a few miles away.
This results in a high turnover rate (30%). The teachers who stay accept the lower pay so they can remain in the community they love, but frozen wages force many teachers to seek opportunities in other cities.
Tough Decisions
Between reduced state funding, the loss of local funds, rising healthcare costs, and building and transportation requirements, Apache Junction USD needs to trim $2.7 million from its budget. If the legislature passes Governor Ducey’s proposed state budget, that number will increase by $600,000.
The district has closed one elementary school on March 3rd, and implemented a four-day school week. These changes mean much larger class sizes, jobs lost, longer bus rides, and a poorer educational experience for all of the affected children.
You can help.
We encourage you to share this page; if fully funded, it will represent one of the most noteworthy achievements of the GoFundMe community. Please help us prove the power of crowdfunding to affect real change.
*Learn more about Apache Junction Unified School District at www.ajusd.org . Expenditures of all funds received through GoFundMe will be tracked and published on our website. All donations go directly into the school bank account.
4,500 children. 700 employees. 60,000 community members.
By sharing our message, you can make an impact on children's lives -now and into the future.
You will be helping 4,500 children reach their full potential. You will give them the foundation needed to continue to college, the confidence needed to become involved in the community, and the ability to become productive members of society.
Who Are We?
We are a modest public school district with four elementary schools, one junior high, and one high school serving 217 square miles in Arizona (www.ajusd.org ). Most of the community’s residents have low or fixed incomes, including a high number of retirees. The community has 60,000 residents and 4,500 children who attend public schools.
Historically, our community has been very supportive of education, but we were hit hard in the economic downturn, and with tightened belts, local financial support dried up. In 2007, 2010 and 2014, the district tried to pass elections which would have provided the funds necessary to continue operating optimally. This has resulted in closing three schools, increasing classroom sizes to close to 40 students in some cases, and ignoring much-needed maintenance.
We can no longer pass local initiatives for educational funding. Worse yet, the state repeatedly cuts funding to K-12 education, so we make do with less…and less, and less.
Aging Buildings, Buses and Infrastructure
Because AJUSD has focused budget cuts to maximize dollars to the classroom, it has foregone spending on equipment, building maintenance, buses, and other “discretionary” expenses. The newest bus in the district fleet is 7 years old, and the average age of the buses is about 12 years old. HVAC systems are in serious need of repair. In this region, where temperatures often reach greater than 115 degrees, system failures are disruptive and dangerous.
Basic repairs and replacements won’t wait much longer, but there’s no place for them under the current budget. The district is faced with the need to create a capital contingency fund for these expenses in order to avoid catastrophic system failures.
Frozen Incomes for Teachers
For years, the district’s teachers have worked with frozen wages. Teachers are paid 9% less than equally experienced teachers from communities a few miles away.
This results in a high turnover rate (30%). The teachers who stay accept the lower pay so they can remain in the community they love, but frozen wages force many teachers to seek opportunities in other cities.
Tough Decisions
Between reduced state funding, the loss of local funds, rising healthcare costs, and building and transportation requirements, Apache Junction USD needs to trim $2.7 million from its budget. If the legislature passes Governor Ducey’s proposed state budget, that number will increase by $600,000.
The district has closed one elementary school on March 3rd, and implemented a four-day school week. These changes mean much larger class sizes, jobs lost, longer bus rides, and a poorer educational experience for all of the affected children.
You can help.
We encourage you to share this page; if fully funded, it will represent one of the most noteworthy achievements of the GoFundMe community. Please help us prove the power of crowdfunding to affect real change.
*Learn more about Apache Junction Unified School District at www.ajusd.org . Expenditures of all funds received through GoFundMe will be tracked and published on our website. All donations go directly into the school bank account.
Organizer
Ben Carmitchel
Organizer
Apache Junction, AZ
