May 2019
Sitarra Lundpren, 10, excitedly holds a parrot during the Dino Egg Hunt. See more on page 11.
$28.8M deficit looms as Mesa schools seek override OK
Nearly 150 East Valley schools at risk for measles
By Jordan Houston
By Jordan Houston Mesa Public Schools (MPS) is giving voters a second chance to approve a 15 percent budget override that, if unsuccessful again, could leave the district $28.8 million in the red next year. The school board voted last week to move forward with a special override election on Nov. 5, emphasizing a critical need for the property-tax funded increase. Although MPS has been operating under a 10 percent override since 1995, it needs an additional 5 percent in order to stay afloat, according to Assistant Superintendent Scott Thompson.
Mesa Public Schools Governing Board President Elaine Miner. (Special to Nearby News)
Bonds...continued on page 8
Gov. Doug Ducey last October, during a visit to a school, said he wanted Arizona to remain a pro-vaccine state and would oppose any effort to expand exemptions from vaccines. (Capitol Media Services)
At a time when state vaccination rates are on the decline, almost 150 elementary schools in the East Valley are at risk for a measles outbreak. Using data from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), the East Valley Tribune found that 148 schools in the cities of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Ahwatukee, Queen Creek and Tempe have less than 95 percent of their kindergartners vaccinated for Measles Mumps Rubella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says coverage rates below that number no longer protect those who can’t be vaccinated – such as babies, people with
Measles...continued on page 12
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