June 02, 2006

MARICOPA - Mayor Kelly Anderson is asking area developers to step up to the plate by helping local schools build desperately needed athletic fields.

A Maricopa High School graduate himself, Anderson recalls the days when everyone would pitch in to help.

"Those of us who have lived here for any length of time remember how the local farmers would bring their farm equipment to the school to smooth off the track, grade the baseball field and generally help any way needed," Anderson said. "The whole community was engaged and focused on the schools' needs and I thought that the new farmer might want to bring down their equipment to finish off the various needs the school sites have now."

It's a problem Anderson saw firsthand during the Maricopa Wells Middle School groundbreaking last month, where he issued the challenge.

"At the ceremony, I came to the realization that when the facility is completed, it will still lack complete build-out of its planned athletic fields," Anderson said. "Knowing that the School Facilities Board only funds a limited amount per school, I thought that maybe there could be something done to complete the school site as planned. It was a spur-of-the-moment comment, but it has been something which I have been spending time thinking about."

The state School Facilities Board only covers the bare minimum for schools, including just 3 cubic feet of storage per classroom, no flooring, no grass or landscaping, and no athletic fields. Maricopa Unified School District Superintendent Alma Farrell calls the SFB requirements "substandard."

"Maricopa Schools wants more than that for our students," Farrell said. "Our oldest buildings are above the (SFB) standards."

While developers pay the district $150 per house in voluntary impact fees along with a donated school site, Farrell said it costs much more than that to provide school space. She hopes that the mayor's challenge will bring more assistance from developers to help cover the difference.

"In the beginning, like so many issues that Maricopa is experiencing, we had no idea we would experience hypergrowth," Farrell said. "Therefore, it was felt that this type of donation was great. However, a few years down the road, we have established that every child that registers in our district has a cost factor that exceeds $4,000 each."

And turning to the state for assistance isn't much of an option, either. According to Farrell, Arizona ranks 49th or 50th in the nation for funding. That's because the state uses a formula that relies on average daily attendance to determine how much money each school receives. The district is only funded according to the number of days a child is enrolled for the first 100 days of the school year.

"If they enroll two days before the 100th day, we get 2/100th of the annual funding for that child," Farrell explained. "The sad issue is that schools get funded for the first 100 days and we have 180 days of school. Therefore, any child who comes into our district on or after the 101st day of school is not funded."

It's a difficult game where the district is always forced to play catch-up.

"The bottom line is that $150 does not cover the impact the developers are placing on the educational side of this community," Farrell said.

The Casa Grande school districts get considerably more per house.

The superintendent supports Anderson's plea to developers, saying donations are desperately needed to complete Maricopa Wells Middle School.

"It is so exciting to have a new building, but deflating to know there will only be a baseball field," Farrell said. "There will not be a gym or fields for both boys and girls to participate in. We have moved so far in the extended programs that the district offers and supports to feed quality programs from the middle school to the high school. Now we will have a middle school without the opportunity to expand those programs.... It will leave a lot to be desired for our middle school students in the extra-curricular area."

Anderson said he will continue to pursue his challenge with the aid of city and school staff and hopes to see donations made in time to complete the school. Construction is currently expected to wrap up in late November with students possibly moving in at the start of the spring semester.

"We want our schools to be a positive experience for our students and to have vacant and unusable fields for any length of time is not what I want for any student," Anderson said. "My challenge is to hopefully create a dialogue among the community, including builders, attorneys, developers and others who do business here."

©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2006