The Tombstone Unified School District is asking voters this November to approve a property tax increase in the form of a budget override to help pay for educational programs and services the district cannot afford.

Karl Uterhardt, Tombstone Unified School District superintendent, said that a budget override would help pay for programs that the district is struggling to fund including academic support programs, gifted education, expanding the preschool program, extracurricular activities and recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers.

“People can see that our state at the current time — and I think everybody can agree with this— is broke. We’re beyond broke,” Uterhardt said. “The state is not going to help us. This is really the only way that Tombstone Unified School District residents can guarantee that this money will go to the schools.”

A budget override will allow the district to spend up to 10 percent more beyond their maintenance and operations budget limits by increasing property taxes. Budget overrides are voter-approved and are a secondary property tax rate. Tombstone currently does not have a secondary property tax, Uterhardt said.

Though the tax would be determined by the value of the property, Uterhardt said that the cost for majority of property owners would less than $6 a month.. A home valued at $101,000 would have its property tax increased approximately $5.82 per month for a total annual increase of about $70 a year.

Uterhardt estimated that the budget override has the potential to generate at least $400, 000 for the school district in extra funding.

A majority of school districts in Cochise County have tax overrides as a way to help fund public education schools including Sierra Vista and Wilcox. Both school districts are asking voters this year to continue their existing budget overrides, he added.

The school board approved the tax override in July and Tombstone residents will vote on the measure on November 4.  If voters pass the budget override, it will take effect in 2009 for the 2009-2010 school year.

Barbara Highfield, a broker at Tombstone Real Estate, said that even though her property taxes increased dramatically over the past year she would support the budget override in order to help Tombstone children.

“I’ve always been a strong advocate for the schools,” Highfield said. “I am for the increase even though it may hurt my pocketbook.”

Though Highfield’s children are grown and she does not have any relatives in the Tombstone school district, she said that it important for the community to help makeup for the lack of state funding.

“Our schools just suffer,” Highfield added. “I understand that we are 49th out 50 (states) for funding for schools and that is just really unfortunate. We need to support our teachers and students more than that.”?

Nikki Duhamel, a manager at Annie’s Place at 514 E. Allen, has one child at Huachaca City Elementary and said that she supports the budget override as long as the money is spent only to help the schools, especially students.

“If anyone’s going to have their rates increased for something that someone says will help the schools, I think that they should have proof of it,” Duhamel said.

Property owners should be able to see where their money is going and the funds should be tracked online or by some sort of written documentation sent to taxpayers, Duhamel added.

Uterhardt said that voters will be able to see the results of the budget override by the increase of new programs and services offered for students.

Uterhardt plans to meet with voters throughout the month of October to talk about tax override and how the district will to spend the extra money if it is approved.

He has already met with several residents in their homes to discuss the proposal and said he willing to speak with anyone to address their concerns about the budget override.

“Our kids are learning and we are producing,” Uterhardt added. “We’re doing the right things. We’re going in the right direction. But we need help from the community now.”