Property-tax bills may rise in Paradise Valley school district

Paradise Valley Unified School District taxpayers will see a slight increase in their property-tax bills for the district.

The average tax bill for the owner of a $100,000 home may climb from $22.55 to $24.71, under the increase in the primary property-tax levy that the five-member governing board approved Thursday.

The tax levy provides $633,000 in "adjacent ways" -- discretionary funding to the district. That fund represents a small fraction of the budget -- less than two-tenths of the district's $186 million maintenance and operations funding, district officials said.

District budget chief Tom Elliott said the tax levy for adjacent ways last year amounted to 48 cents for a home with an assessed value of $100,000. This fiscal year, the tax levy will be $2.16.

Elliott said the funding will cover about $83,000 in improvements that include a warning light and safety upgrades to a pedestrian crossing near 56th Street and Greenway Road outside Horizon High School and to improve traffic-flow issues at Explorer Middle School, 22401 N. 40th St.

The bulk of the discretionary money -- $425,000 -- will pay for construction at Larkspur Elementary School, 2430 E. Larkspur Road. About $125,000 will be put into the district's rainy-day fund.

by Emily Gersema - Jul. 17, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com





Property-tax bills may rise in Paradise Valley school district