“Only” is a word that is a matter of perspective.  When the sales tax increased by 1%, people in favor said it was “only a penny.”  People who buy groceries know that pennies add to dollars.  In this post, we outlined that 1% impact on groceries alone in a couple of scenarios.  We again have the complete discussion below.

The penny added to $165.00 per year for an average Payson household just on grocery tax.  We did not hear supporters saying, “It is ONLY a week’s worth of groceries.”  That would be a hard sell.  “Only a penny” is almost catchy.

We have discussed before that Payson does not operate in a vacuum.  While an isolated market, Payson is not an island.  The Town of Payson shares space with the Payson Unified School District.  One issue on the ballot this year specific to Payson and surrounding areas is the override continuation proposed by the Payson Unified School District.  The property tax override allows for a greater assessment of property taxes.  The property tax override continuation failed in November 2023, with 50.67% of voters rejecting the continuation of the override.  This time, there is organized support for the property tax override, Payson Citizens for Academic Excellence.  As always, we are pleased to see people engaged in the process.  You can visit the group’s page here.  The basic argument is that continuing the property tax override is “not a tax increase.” From their site:

The budget continuation is an extension of the current funding for teacher compensation, academic improvement, and essential programs that has been in place since 2006 and was most recently renewed in 2019.  It WILL NOT increase the tax rate.

That statement is correct.  The rate will not increase, but your out-of-pocket expenses will continue to climb.  That is a result of the valuation of properties increasing.  To place that in context, the following is a series of property tax bills for the same home with no major improvements.  In 2021 the tax was $4,227.32 it is now $5,988.48.  That is a 41.6% increase over four years.

Payson Unified has a high cost per student. In Fiscal year 2023, the per pupil spending was $13,821.00, which is higher than the state average of just over $10,100.00. Do we see much local bang for the buck? Are Payson Unified’s success metrics 30% higher than the rest of the state?  Should the property tax override be passed?  We don’t know.  The voters will decide.

We do know that citizens are tired of being taxed.  We know that changes and accountability must come.  Taxpayer money is not the solution to every problem.

If the continuation property tax override fails, the town of Payson is partially responsible for a significant portion of the blame.

People must claw back their week’s worth of groceries, even if  “only a penny” at a time.

Enrolment in the District is down and expected to continue declining.  If the property tax override does not pass, it will be phased over the next three years.  There will be no mass layoffs of teachers; eliminations, if any, will likely occur through attrition.   The sun will still rise in the morning.

School funding is a complex issue.  We are providing some information for you to review and decide below.

The information on the 1% sales tax was calculated as follows:

Food tax impact

How much does the Payson food tax impact you?  For a single mom with two kids, it is not good.  Some math.  The median income is $29,412.00 per person.  That differs between men and women.  Per household, $55,303.00.  The median differs from the average as it is the midpoint of the values.  Half of the people are above; half are below.  The median age is 59.1 years.  The USDA weekly food allowance for a moderate plan for a male 51-70 is $81.80 weekly.  The current rate of 2.88% is $2.355 per week or $122.50 per year.  If the rate goes to 3.88%, that is $3.173 per week or $165.00 per year.  That is paid after payroll taxes and cannot be claimed as a deduction.  The federal tax burden at $29,142.00 is $3,967.00.  Arizona is about $450.00.  (Arizona now has a flat tax of 2.5%; the state may be a bit higher than what is calculated.) Net pay is then $24,725.00.  So, Payson collects .667% of your net income when buying groceries.

Single male with a couple of kids?  They collect more.  Single female with kids?  Bigger percentage.  Let’s take a 30-year-old female with two children.  Women make about 83% of the median income.  So, $24,116.00.  Female, age 30, moderate plan weekly, $73.20.  Child 4 to 5/$48.40, child 6 to 8/$66.50, child 9 to11/$76.30. The average is $63.73.  Total weekly groceries for mom and two kids: $200.66.  If the tax rate goes to 3.88%, that is $7.625 per week or $396.50 per year.  The federal tax burden at $24,116.00 is $2,979.00.  Arizona is about $300.00.  Net pay is then $20,837.00.  So, Payson collects 1.902% of single moms’ take-home pay when they buy groceries.

We can discuss child support, .gov food programs, and others, but you get the idea.

• https://datacommons.org/place/geoId/0453700/?utm_medium=explore&mprop=income&popt=Person&cpv=age,Years15Onwards&hl=en#

• https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/median-earnings-for-women-in-2022-were-83-0-percent-of-the-median-for-men.htm

• https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/CostofFoodAug2023LowModLib.pdf

School Funding Information:

There is a wealth of information available online. We encourage each voter to complete their research. We have done some research, which is found below.  On funding, Arizona ranks 49^th in the nation. The Payson District’s funding is higher than the Arizona average, but its academic results are lower than average.

Arizona schools spend less on K-12 education than the national average.  The state’s government also spends less on education per capita.  Arizona ranks 49th in spending and 49th in funding.  Arizona K-12 schools spend $10,090 per pupil for a total of $11.4 billion annually.  July 14, 2024

https://educationdata.org/public-education-spending-statistics

District’s spending by operational area via Arizona Auditor General.

Operational efficiency measures via Arizona Auditor General.

Teacher salary via Arizona Auditor General.

Given the lower-than-average teacher salary, perhaps the focus should come from within by reducing the District’s administrative costs.  From the Arizona Auditor General:

Depending on how much a district spends in total, even small changes in a district’s percentage spent on instruction can equate to large changes in the actual dollars the district spent.

Test Scores:

Rankings:

You can learn more at the Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona Auditor General.