UPDATE 11-8-15

11-8-15   How did Gilbert Public schools defraud Gilbert residents out if $$$$$ Millions? 

1) Put 2 tax massive increases in a ballot initiative in an off cycle election (Many people don’t vote every four years; fewer vote every 2 years; so tax hikes are placed on years when the general population will have the lease amount of representation and the least % of property owners voting; giving advantage to "tax maniacs")

2) Make it a mail in only ballot  (No polling stations open on election day)(Many retired people and others don’t do mail in ballots)(No chance for electioneering at the polls)

3) Lie, lie, lie X 10 to the 15th power

The November 2015 election brought somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 billion to the coffers of government K-12 schools in Arizona; and Gilbert was in on the gambit.

But, we are told that the schools are cash strapped! No raises to teachers in years! Funding to schools going down every year! Schools falling down! Buses falling apart! The Legislature is selfish and hates children!

Check this out:

4 tax increases in 4 years: Gilbert homeowners have noticed their taxes going up in recent years and they assumed it was because of rising home values. That is a part of it but not the whole story. Tax RATES have also increased each year with all of those monies going DIRECTLY to Gilbert Public Schools:

TAX RATES HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED IN FOUR YEARS!

2011 it was 2.4425/$100;

2012 it jumped to 4.0884/100;

2013 it increased to 4.3953/100;

2014 it increased to 5.2090/100;

2015 it increased to 5.2599/100.

Gilbert has one of the highest tax rates in the area:

According to the JLBC funding to K-12 Statewide has increase 14.76% in the past 4 years

https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2015/10/10/districts-calling-for-bonds-overrides-increases-by-150/

In actual dollars, funding to GPS (Gilbert Public Schools) has increased $7.1 million THIS YEAR (before the election)

“One of the reasons that school board members are elected officials is that they have the ability and power to raise your primary property tax levy at will. And they have. A lot .This has been used to infill for the expiring past override to such an extent that the last figure we have for aggregate spending shows an increase of $7.1 million over the previous year.”~Daryl Colvin GPS Board Member

http://teach1776.ning.com/group/gilbertschoolboardtaskforce/forum/topics/daryl-colvin-5-reasons-to-vote-down-gilbert-schools-request-overr


Claims have been flying around that teachers have been given no raises in many years when in fact they have received 5 RAISES IN THE PAST 4 YEARS:

October 25, 2011, a 0.5% one-time stipend for all staff, including teachers;

In 2012, a 2% one-time stipend for all staff, including teachers;

April 23, 2013 a 3% permanent raise for teachers;  

May 13, 2014 a 1.4% permanent raise for all staff, including teachers;

March 31, 2015 a 1.6% raise for all staff including, teachers.

Click HERE to read the Minutes of these meetings.  Click HERE to read how the 2% 

We are told we have to raise taxes for the teachers but teacher raises are nowhere in the official boards goals:

 http://westieconnect.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/GoverningBoardGoals2015-16.pdf


In recent years while our taxes are increasing along with funding to GPS, student enrollment has been steadily FALLING:

From 2010 to 2014 student enrollment steadily decreased for a total 743 fewer students according to the AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction Annual Reports: 

ADM 36,150 2013-2014   http://www.azed.gov/superintendent/files/2015/01/safr-2014-volume-i...  

ADM 36,416 2012-2013   http://www.azed.gov/superintendent/files/2014/03/safr-2013-volume-i...  

ADM 36,527 2011-2012   http://www.azed.gov/superintendent/files/2013/04/2011-2012-volume-1.pdf

ADM 36,599 2010-2011   http://www.azed.gov/superintendent/files/2011/12/superintendents-an... 

ADM 36,893 2009 – 2010    http://www.azed.gov/superintendent/files/2012/01/vol1.pdf

Projections are for enrollment to continue to decline more than 1% per year:

http://www.gilbertschools.net/cms/lib3/AZ01001722/Centricity/Domain/4/Demographic%20Study%20v2.pdf

How fiscally responsible has GPS been lately?
When the new “Left leaning” board took control last year, one of their first acts was to jettison the Zero Based Budgeting program put in place by the previous Conservative majority board https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-based_budgeting. Now the Superintendent spends money freely without hindrance on whatever she desires, as the new board majority is little more than a “rubber stamp committee”.

How have they spent the money? On laptops so kids can watch porn: 

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/gilbert/gilbert-parents-claim-school-issued-laptops-give-access-to-porn-other-inappropriate-material

How about transparency? The board has been secret meetings out of the prying eyes of the public: (Arizona Attorney General Monitors Gilbert Public Schools for Open Meeting Law Violations http://westieconnect.com/archives/10055 ) 

The previous administration actually destroyed public records:http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/gilbert/2014/04/09/gilbert-school-boards-strengthen-public-records-policy/7514643/ 

And those poor teachers who haven't had a raise in "like forever"?

The Truth is that GPS teachers have had 5 increases in pay in just the last 4 years, as follows:

October 25, 2011, a 0.5% one-time stipend for all staff, including teachers;

In 2012, a 2% one-time stipend for all staff, including teachers;

April 23, 2013 a 3% permanent raise for teachers;  

May 13, 2014 a 1.4% permanent raise for all staff, including teachers;

March 31, 2015 a 1.6% raise for all staff including, teachers.

Click HERE to read the Minutes of these meetings.  Click HERE to read how the 2% “one-time” stipend awarded in 2012 was made permanent on April 23, 2013, when teachers received a 3% salary increase.

  
But teachers are poor! They need more money in order to feel appreciated! 

The Truth:
GDP per capita (2012 stats-latest available) in Arizona is $35,195 or 39th in the nation

Actual teacher salaries:

Staci Burk 9-27-15 (Base pay not including benefits package)

In 2012, GPS teachers made between $35,557 and $66,330 (2% raise)

In 2013, GPS teachers made between $36,611 and $68,334 (3% raise)

In 2014, GPS teachers made between $37,143 and $69,290 (1.4% raise)

In 2015, GPS teachers made between $37,737 and $70,399 (1.6% raise)

NOTE: This is base pay and does not include $18,000 (according to former Superintendent Allison) per year each teacher gets in their benefits package)

Here is a screen shot sample of a recently approved list of Gilbert Public Schools teacher salaries. These amounts are the base salaries and do not include PFP (pay for performance) or stipends if applicable or $18,000 benefits package. 

If you combine the starting pay with the benefits, BEGINNER’S pay in GPS is about $53,000 a year with top teacher salaries worth almost $90,000 a year. This is for a job with a 3 month vacation in the summer, Spring Break, Fall Break, Winter Break and Holidays off. 
Random screen shot of pay schedules for GPS:  

http://teach1776.ning.com/group/gilbertschoolboardtaskforce/forum/topics/gilbert-teachers-not-starving-after-all

Even though GPS gets a raise every year, those on Social Security are not assured. This year there was no rate increase to Social Security as was the case in 2009 and 2010: 

And, this is all happening at a time when over 1/2 of working Americans make less than $30,000 a year

"In 2014, half of working Americans reported an income at or below $28,851 (the median wage), and 51 percent reported an income of less than $30,000. Forty percent are making less than $20,000. The federal government considers a family of four living on an income of less than $24,250 to be impoverished."

http://nation.foxnews.com/2015/10/26/1-2-working-americans-make-less-30000-year

So, teacher benefits alone are worth as much as 40% of the population's entire salaries

According to GPS board member Julie Smith (not a rubber stamp-one of 2 at this point) the entire election was illegal:

And, countless violations have been cited, but not punsished or stopped, for illegally using taxpayer funded resources for electioneering:

http://teach1776.ning.com/group/gilbertschoolboardtaskforce/forum/topics/julie-smith-files-formal-complaint-against-gilbert-public-schools

Despite irregularities in the voter pamphlet a law suit to stop the election was dropped because (I’m not kidding) according to the judge, it wasn’t filed early enough; even though the lawsuit was filed 40 days before the election  

http://www.gilbertwatch.com/index.cfm/blog/gilbert-public-schools-november-3-2015-special-tax-increase-election/

“But Arizona is 48th in education Spending!”.

That’s what we hear and it is a ridiculous argument because the cost of living is far lower in Arizona than in most other places in the country. A modest 4 bedroom house in Gilbert can be had for less than $300,000. That same home in San Francisco will set you back $1.2million! To have the same quality of life that one would enjoy for $50,000 in Phoenix, you would need to make $87,000 a year in San Francisco and $116,000 a year in Manhattan!!

http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! The Arizona legislature voted to give the schools $2.2 Billion more but the school districts got together and sued the state to STOP THE FUNDING! Why? NOT ENOUGH MONEY!! (see Cave Creek Et Al VS Dewitt http://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-supreme-court/1645559.html )
So, now the state is promising $3.5 billion and draining the State Land Trust Fund in the process. If that deal goes through, it means a tax hike to the schools of about $5.5 Billion in an off cycle election!!!! 

THIS IS "NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" TAKEN TO THE EXTREME!

There is much more to this story – stay tuned – it will only get worse