Amphitheater Public Schools: Child Development
Education
Written by John Zorabedian   
Tuesday, 01 April 2008
Amphitheater Public Schools: Child Development - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Restrictive laws on financing public school construction led this Arizona district to seek strategic partnerships.
Premier Business Partners:

CS Presentation Systems
Heery International
Sungard Penramation, Inc.
In the years before the collapse of the housing market, Tucson, Ariz. was one of the hottest real estate markets in the US. Rapid housing construction followed immigration to Arizona, and the state eclipsed Nevada as the fastest growing in the country in 2006. But all of that growth taxed the public school system, leading districts such as Tucson’s Amphitheater Public Schools scrambling to keep up with the population.

Dr. Vicki Balentine, superintendent - Amphitheater Public Schools: Child Development - American Executive - RedCoat Publishing
Dr. Vicki Balentine, superintendent
Unlike many states, Arizona greatly limits a school district’s ability to fund construction for new schools by issuing municipal bonds approved by the local communities, due to a 1994 Arizona Supreme Court decision that found the practice to be unconstitutional because it created unequal facilities and learning conditions for students. As a result, a state School Facilities Board (SFB) metes out state funds based on a series of formulas for determining the basic needs of school districts in Arizona.

Dr. Vicki Balentine, the superintendent of schools in Amphitheater Unified School District (AUSD), said the SFB’s formulas are woefully inadequate for determining the needs of a district such as hers. “The state says I have space for 3,000 more students, and in fact I don’t,” she said.

Due to a bizarre accounting, kindergartners are only counted as half-students, although the district offers full-day kindergarten classes. And the district’s large classroom sizes count against the district in terms of available space, even though nationally educators and parents are calling for smaller numbers of students in each class.

In the face of a growing student population, and a funding formula that belies the district’s need for more space, Balentine adopted an approach she said is common in Arizona—asking housing developers to donate money to the district to help defray the costs of additional students.

By law, Arizona school districts can not charge impact fees to developers, meaning the district has had to persuade builders to pay up based on an appeal more to economics than conscience. “Ultimately, we said, wait a minute; developers make money on the home, and they sell their homes based on the fact that they’re in a certain school district,” Balentine said. “It changes their price point if buyers see it as a great school versus an average school. Many of us then began approaching developers and asking them for a donation.”

Balentine began asking developers to consider donating a per-home fee of $1,200 (it has now gone up to $1,500), which they would pay into a special fund, the Pay It Forward Program, upon the closing of a home sale. Still, Balentine said, it’s not nearly enough to cover per-student costs. The program is, however, a start. “We try to remind the developers that they typically use our schools for marketing, so it’s in their interest to keep our schools strong,” she said. “This certainly is not going to meet the need, but it keeps the need out in front of people because everyone knows this program.”

Recently, the developer donations provided enough funds to build three new classrooms at a relatively new elementary school in a high growth area. As a show of thanks, the district publishes a list of developers who donate on its Web site. And those that don’t donate are listed, too.

Private partners
The AUSD has its own nonprofit foundation, the Amphi Foundation, which raises funds from private donors, including businesses. The major initiative of the foundation is to fund technology upgrades for the schools that are not provided through state funding streams.

In January 2007, a $300,000 grant from the mining company BHP Copper Inc. allowed the foundation to launch the 21st Century Classroom Initiative to provide Smart Boards, electronic white boards that link computers and the Internet with interactive, touch-screen technology.

BHP Copper’s grant also provided seed money to found Sequel’s Upscale Resale, a consignment shop to pull in additional funds. “We determined in our business plan that the typical shop, after a couple of years, has a good track record of taking in up to $1 million per year,” Balentine said. “That will be our ongoing funding stream for this technology initiative.”

In addition, this past November, the district’s residents voted to issue $180 million in Class B bonds to fund supplementary improvements to the district, including funding to replace all portable classrooms with hard buildings. Balentine said the district may elect to combine the capacity of the portables to build an entirely new school in a high growth area. As Balentine explained, the state provides for “basic needs,” and communities have the right to supplement those needs as they see fit.

In December 2005, Balentine was appointed to the Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) by Governor Janet Napolitano and this January was elected as the SBE president for 2008. Despite her elevated position in the state’s educational hierarchy, Balentine said she has no power to change the mechanisms for funding school construction. “I have some networking and influence, but the State Board of Education handles curriculum and instruction policy and has no power or authority in the area of facilities,” she said.

The bust in the housing market has slowed growth in the district, affording some breathing room for catching up to students’ needs. And when housing construction picks up again, Balentine will be asking for donations.
 
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