SOCSD continues paying 2007 bond; to finalize Big Park sale in July

Teachers in the Sedona-Oak Creek School District will receive, on average, a 2% raise to an average base teacher salary of $57,892 next year, according to the proposed budget, which the Governing Board approved at its June 9 meeting.

As of June 10, the 12-month inflation rate was 4.2%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For last year’s average salary of $56,962 to keep up with inflation, it would need to be $59,126 this year to keep up. However, the salary is before Proposition 301 money is added, which adds $9,250 per teacher, SOCSD FinanceDirector Stacy Saravo said following the first budget presentation.

The only other K-12 district in the region is Camp Verde Unified School District, which is budgeting an average salary of $58,322, up 4% from the previous year’s $56,167.

CVUSD proposed $10,700 per teacher in Prop 301 money on June 9 as well.

The SOCSD board will vote to formally adopt the budget after a public hearing during its next meeting on Tuesday, July 14.

Budget

SOCSD’s proposed overall budget expenditure limit is $8,223,471. Before property taxes, revenuesadd up to $4,327,867, for a total budgeted revenue of $7,311,804.

“The funding amount per student increased by $102 bringing the base level to the to be approximately $5,215 per student,” Saravo said. “While this increase is helpful, it does not fully offset the financial pressures districts continue to face from inflation, rising operational costs, and enrollment fluctuations.”

She said ADM fluctuation can affect how much funding, and budget revisions will take place 40 days and 100 days after classes begin.

“Any funding adjustments or budget add-ons approved by the state will be incorporated into future revisions,” Saravo said.

Bond and Override

The district is still making payments from the $73 million bond district voters passed in 2007.

The last payment is scheduled for Saturday, July 1, 2028.

“The remaining bond balance is approximately 10.28 million,”Saravo said. “Fiscal Year ’25, the district made a principal payment of $3.07 million, and an interest payment of approximately $578,000.”

Board Vice President Lauren Robinson asked why those payments weren’t in the budget that was presented.

“The [Yavapai] county treasurer houses those funds, they take themdirectly out of the tax revenue, and they steward those for us,” Saravo said. “So we do receive the invoices, and we do pay them, but we don’t have the money ourselves.”

The school district passed a 15% maintenance and operations override in 2023, which extends through the 2030-2031 school year.

Largely, it supports all-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes, the finance director said.

“In addition, override funding supports programs that enrich the student experience, including art, music and physical education,” she said. “Finally, it provides resources for technology enhancements that keep classrooms well equipped for modern teaching and learning.”

Big Park Sale

The board greenlit the district to begin finalizing the sale of shuttered Big Park Community School for $10 million in March. It took a few weeks for the contract to be finalized, but the deal hasn’t closed yet, Saravo subsequently said.

“They have a 60-day feasibility window,” she said.

The $10 million won’t be included in this budget, partially because the sale won’t line up with the budget approval timeline.

“It’s not in the budget, because we don’t have the funding yet,” Saravo said, “but … it will not be part of this M&O, because it’s its own thing. It goes into a separate [fund], and it can only be used for capital” projects.

SOCSD will have access to the funds when the deal is finalized, which Saravo said she hopes to be by the end of July.