Chuck Deshazer

I , Chuck Deshazer, am running for the Topock Elementary School District #12 Board to bring total

transparency and financial responsibility to the residents of our school district. Recently the property tax rate for Topock Elementary School District #12 was raised by a vote of the Board, with no documented need, from 1.91 to 3.05. This resulted in an increase of over 100% on the property tax bills of every property owner in our school district for taxes that go exclusively to the school district. There is only one school in the district, seven teachers, twelve support staff and 60 students who attend this one and only school in the district. Last year they reported a $339,000 surplus carryover in their budget. This would indicate that the rate increase that collected $458,000 while the school population dropped by 22% was not needed. The school district includes parts of Desert Hills, Yucca, Golden Shores and Oatman precincts. I also feel that for our 2 school buses to have put on 14995 miles in a 180 day school year in a district that has only 2 square miles of homes for student pick ups needs an explanation. For years board members have been appointed and not elected since no one was interested in running for election. After our huge property tax increase, I decided we definitely need to know how our tax money is being spent. We can vote for a rate that is lower and still provide everything our community needs to provide a quality education for our children.