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COMMUNITY
community spotlight By Tyler Prime
Scottsdale Unified School District Contribution Deadline Nears comm. spotlight
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Contributing to a Scottsdale Unified School District school has never been easier and its benefits never more simply put. “Donate to a school, the one you think is cool, get every penny back, you can’t beat that, so donate, to SUSD tax credit,” the jingle on the SUSD website proclaims. Just as the jingle said, donors can have their contributions matched dollar for dollar and returned to them for up to $200 for individual filers and up to $400 for married filers. That money comes back in the form of an Arizona State tax credit. Contributions can be made online at the SUSD website or paid by cash or check delivered to 3811 N. 44th St. Phoenix, AZ 85018. The deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 31. Recently, the online payment system has offered even more options. Starting in 2013, SUSD started offering a program where contributors could have contributions automatically sent at regular intervals, instead of making one lump payment. SUSD Chief Finance Officer Daniel O’Brien said this new feature helped increase contributions. “From 2012 to 2013, we are up and we are up a considerable amount,” O’Brien said. According to the SUSD records, districtwide contributions increased from $2,863,604.76 in 2012 to $2,941,921.46 in 2013 for a total increase of $78,316.70. As of Oct. 31, the district has collected $1,383,613, however, O’Brien said, it expects to finish above its previous totals by the end of the year. While these records reflect districtwide totals, the contributions actually go directly to specific schools. Within the schools, contributors can choose to give money to general funds or for specific functions that Copper Ridge School Principal Michelle Otstot calls “buckets.” “The money can go into our general account, where we can use that money classifieds
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for extracurricular activities or field trips, or parents can also donate to specific buckets, where parents can donate to specific activities” Otstot said. These contributions are important for district schools and according to Otstot, without them certain activities would either cease to exist or parents would have to pay for them out of pocket. “I would say about $25,000 of the contributions are spent on field trips,” Otstot said. “If we didn’t have the tax credits, we couldn’t fund the field trips.” The importance of these funds is not a situation unique to Copper Ridge School. Arcadia High School principal Nathan Slater gave a similar statement about the importance of these contributions. “These funds are crucial to the survival of programs and the actual execution of them,” Slater said. Slater added that contributions can go to school sports programs and athletic fees. Slater said that this contribution destination is often forgotten. “One thing I think people don’t understand is that contributions can go to athletics as well,” Slater said, “You could come in and say ‘I want to pay my son or daughter’s participation fee as a tax credit.’” Because these funds are so important to schools, there are ongoing efforts to make sure community members know about the opportunity to contribute. Both Otstot and Slater are constantly reaching out to the community to explain the tax credit system. “Really it’s an education drive, so the public can understand the significance of these tax funds, the impact it has on these schools and ultimately that it really is not a cost to them,” Slater said. “These are tax dollars that you’re going to pay anyway and it’s better to have those funds in the school.” For more information about contributing to SUSD, visit www.susd. schoolfusion.us. Gridiron
Family Candlelight Service December 24th at 6pm
An hour of kickin’ Christmas songs celebrating the birth of Christ with string quartet Phat Strad and Living Word Worship. Perfect for every age, the Living Word Candlelight Service, a “must do” Christmas tradition.
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