Mohave Valley School District

Fort Mojave Elementary Holiday Shoppe is open this week. This is a great opportunity for our students to shop for parents and sibling.

Fort Mojave’s Kindergarten Turkey Trot winners are 1st Place- Blake, 2nd Place- Nathaniel, 3rd Place- Royal. Thank you to Mr. Turco for being our running turkey.

Thanksgiving Break - No School 11/22/21-11/26/21

Fort Mojave’s 1s grade Turkey Trot winners are 1st Place- Lennon, 2nd Place- Victoria, 3rd Place- Jayden. Congratulations!! And a big shout out to Mr. Turco, our running turkey.

There will be no Route I for the morning elementary route due to shortage of drivers. We are very sorry for this inconvenience.

Happy Veterans Day - No School on Thursday (11/11)! School does resume on Friday (11/12). To our men and women in uniform, past, present, and future, MVESD thanks you for your service to our Country. To those in uniform serving today and to those who have served in the past, we honor you on this day and every day. Home of the free because of the brave.

Route M Elementary will not be running for the Elementary Route due to shortage of drivers.

CMES has been full of excitement this week as we have celebrated Red Ribbon Week. Throughout the week, students have participated in several themed days to make a pledge to stay drug free. The main event for the week, however, was PTO's Trunk or Treat. After a year without, people came back and made the event a huge success. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped, the people who decorated trunks, the families that showed up, the businesses and people who donated baskets, and especially to our PTO team for their time in making it all possible. If you have pictures of your child dressed for theme day or anything from Trunk or Treat, share them in the comments. We would love to see them.

Parent-Teacher Conference Information EARLY-RELEASE TIMES AND BUS ROUTE INFORMATION Parents, please be advised: Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held this week Wednesday, October 27th through Friday, October 29th. These days are Early-Release Days with the following early-release schedules. FMES: 1:00PM CMES: 12:30PM MVJH: 1:50PM Early-Release Bus Routes Times (Drop-Off) Pick-Up stays the same! Wednesday Through Friday (10/27-10/29) https://5il.co/112h4

Parents please be advised: To clear up any confusion, Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held this week Wednesday, October 27th through Friday, October 29th. These days are Early Release Days with the following early release schedules. FMES: 1:00PM CMES: 12:30PM MVJH: 1:50PM

For Mohave dismissal change for next Wednesday through Friday. Please contact you student’s teacher if you do not have a scheduled conference time.

CME would like to say thank you for an amazing first quarter. On Tuesday, October 19th, we will recognize students for their academic achievements during the quarter. The times for each grade are as follows. 5th Grade at 8:00 AM 4th Grade at 8:30 AM 3rd Grade at 9:00 AM Please email your child's teacher if you are unsure if your child is scheduled to receive an award.

CMES would like to inform parents that Route E has been combined with Route J. Therefore, these routes are expected to be as much as 30 minutes behind normal schedule. Please be patient as we work to get every child home safely.

Reminder: Fort Mojave 1st Quarter Award Assemblies are today, 10/18, in the cafeteria. 1:15- 2nd grade 1:45- 1st grade 2:15- Kindergarten Parents are welcome to attend.

Time to VOTE! Mark it! Sign it! Mail it! What is a Budget Override? School districts in Arizona are allowed by State law to increase their Maintenance & Operations (M&O) budgets each year by up to 15% of the revenue control limit imposed by the State Legislature. M&O funds are used almost exclusively for salaries for teachers and staff. School districts in Arizona representing more than 80% of the students presently have a budget override in place. How long do override funds last? An override lasts for seven years. If not renewed, the amount decreases by one-third in the sixth year and two-thirds in the seventh year. In year eight, it expires. By law, voters must reauthorize its budget override. This election is to renew the override already in place. The last M&O Override was approved in 2016. Even though continuation overrides are not new taxes, per state law, they must be renewed through an election to continue for another seven years. How much is the M&O override contributing to the MVESD budget currently? The full amount contributing to competitive salaries and benefits is estimated at approximately $1 million for 2021-2022 school year and will begin to sunset beginning 2022-2023, expiring in 2024-2025 school year, if not renewed by the voters. Why is the district asking for the continuation of the override now? The district prior to the passing of the override had a difficult time attracting high-quality teacher candidates to fill open positions, whether at the beginning of the year, mid-year when teachers leave unexpectedly, or at the end of the year when open positions are first known. How does this problem affect our education? Without the override, unfilled positions were often filled by substitute teachers, most of which who have no education beyond their high school diploma. Mid-year teacher departures had resulted in shifting students and teachers amongst existing teachers, meaning increased class sizes. Beside the disruption of students, staff turnover required constant retraining, which takes time, energy, and often costs for training. How will override continuation support help? Money from the override election has been used to increase the base teacher salary within MVESD making it very competitive to teachers across the State and Nation. We have seen the average teacher longevity in our District increase to 10 years. High-quality teachers plus stability are good for kids, community and student achievement. This can be directly attributed to the passing of the override by our community in 2016. How much will the override cost the average taxpayer? This is a renewal of an existing tax and, if approved, will not increase your property tax rate. Homeowners pay approximately 47 cents per $100 of assessed value. The average home within the District is assessed at about $117,000. The average homeowner pays about $4.50 per month in property taxes. What is the difference between assessed value and market value of my home? Assessed property value comes from the local tax assessor's office. It is used for taxation purposes. Fair market value (FMV) is the price a home will likely bring in the current market. The assessed value of a home usually lags in comparison to the market since the valuations are only adjusted annually, while market values can change multiple times per year. What will happen if the budget override is not renewed? MVESD will be forced to cut a little more than $1 Million from its operating budget over the next two years. Class sizes will increase and salaries will not be as competitive with other local and state school districts. How do I know the money will be spent as indicated? The District is committed to responsible stewardship of override funds. Arizona law requires the District to clearly list what the override will be spent on in the voter information pamphlet. As a result, the District is required to comply or be in violation of Arizona state law. When will the M&O Override be on the ballot? Election Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 - Mail-In Ballot Only. Expect to receive your ballot after October 6, 2021. Last day to register to vote is October 4, 2021.

Dust Devils- have a great Fall break and see you next Monday the 18th.

As we head into fall break, we would like to celebrate some of the work done by our students this last quarter. Enjoy the time off and we will see everyone soon.

CMES would like to remind parents that today is the last day of the quarter and there will be not school next week (10/11-10/15). We hope everyone has a wonderful week off. We will see you all on 10/18.

This is how FMES Preschool celebrates the end of a unit.

MVP Meeting Thurs., 10/7 at 6PM in the library. Hope to see you there.