Latest news with #Prop123
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City of Grand Junction buys 21.78 acres for Salt Flats
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) – Just a little way down the road, a new set of homes is in the works. Ashley Chambers, housing manager for the City of Grand Junction, states, 'We had heard of the new Prop 123, land banking funding become available, and so we at the city or have adopted housing strategies, and one of our goals was to identify properties that could be used for affordable housing development.' The City of Grand Junction acquired 21.78 acres of land to start the Salt Flats project after receiving a $2.2 million proposition grant from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority Land Banking Program. The city provided an additional $1 million match to secure multiple grants. Chambers states, 'Over the last year, we've been working to sort of negotiate that site, do all of the due diligence, run studies on the site and also work to negotiate sort of infrastructure costs for development.' Chamber states, 'I think one of the goals is that we do have our ideal locations for housing as an infill so where there's already transportation networks and already access points to key locations in our community.' Grand Junction Mayor Abram Herman stated, 'With a housing shortage impacting our workforce and families, this site will play a crucial role in providing more affordable and attainable housing options to ensure long-term stability and economic resilience.' 'We have seen an increase of development in our community of multifamily products and homes in general, but we have largely not seen Capital A affordable projects, and with our housing crisis and prices having increased so much. We believe that this project really lays a foundation for increasing capital and affordable units within our community and creating a market where there really isn't one,' Chambers said. The Salt Flats project intends on building 324 to 500 affordable housing units. Chamber states, 'We know that usually people with lower incomes are looking at rentals, which is why that 60% AMI exists for rental market.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mesa Public Schools the latest district in Arizona to announce layoffs due to budget, enrollment shortfalls
The Brief Mesa Public Schools is dealing with an $18 million budget reduction and a projected enrollment drop of 1,800 students. In response, the district announced they would lay off 147 positions for the next school year. Declining birth rates and expiring state funding were at the center of challenges that forced the school district to announce the personnel decision. MESA, Ariz. - Mesa Public Schools, Arizona's largest school district, announced they are laying off 147 positions for the next school year. Among the layoffs, three administrators will be let go as the school manages what they expect will be a reduction in enrollment by 1,800 students. The school district is also adjusting to a budget reduction of nearly $18 million. What they're saying "Despite these obstacles, our commitment to delivering on our promise remains steadfast: to know every student by name, serve them by strength and need, and ensure they graduate ready for college, career, and community," Mesa Public Schools said in a press release. The district also said they had 1,100 more seniors than kindergartners and noted an 18% decline in statewide birth rates as a contributing factor to the budget reductions and personnel cuts. Local perspective In Mesa, birthrates have declined by 28%. "Compounding these challenges are decreasing state and federal funding, including the expiration of Prop 123 in July 2025, and rising operational costs," the release stated. Dig deeper In addition, the school district will eliminate 42 certified staff members. All employees will receive several months notice before their termination. The district said that they "carefully evaluated all resources, staffing levels, and organizational structures to align with our district goals."
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mesa Public Schools is cutting jobs for 2025-26 school year. What we know so far
Arizona's largest public school district has announced it will cut staff positions next school year as its student population continues to shrink. Mesa Public Schools' enrollment has declined by about 12% over the past decade, a trend district officials expect to continue. In mid-January, the district announced it would eliminate positions next school year to reduce its budget by about $18 million. Last year, the district estimated it would lose just under 1,000 students before the 2024-25 school year, but that number turned out to be about 1,500, according to a presentation at the district's Jan. 14 Governing Board meeting. The district was expecting to lose an additional 1,800 students next school year. None of the district's schools are at capacity. Here's what we know so far about planned job cuts in Mesa Public Schools. Mesa Public Schools has attributed the loss of students to declining birth rates. Arizona's birth rate declined by 33% between 2007 and 2021, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services. About a quarter of school-aged children who live within Mesa Public Schools' boundaries attend charter schools or schools in other districts. More than 4,000 school-aged children within Mesa Public Schools' boundaries receive voucher funds for private schools or homeschooling expenses, a group the district is trying to engage through its program for homeschooled students. "Compounding these challenges are decreasing state and federal funding, including the expiration of Prop 123 in July 2025, and rising operational costs," Mesa Public Schools said in a statement. Nearly 90% of the district's budget goes toward staffing. Mesa Public Schools is cutting 147 district-level positions next school year, including three administrators. The district is also cutting certified staff, though the number is not yet known. Staff who are losing their jobs were told by Friday, Feb. 7, and the list of affected positions was scheduled to go before the board Feb. 11. The number and type of jobs eliminated will be known after that meeting. The reduction in force recommendation from the district's administration went before the Governing Board on Jan. 28 and was approved. Impacted staff will receive "resources such as resume support and mock interviews, and opportunities to apply for other roles within the district," according to the district. Mesa Public Schools considered changing the format of its elementary music classes as part of its cost-cutting efforts, but after opposition from parents, students and staff, the board decided to keep the status quo for another year. In an interview, Amber Weaver, an orchestra teacher at Las Sendas Elementary in northeast Mesa, said the music program there is special. 'We're very, very steeped in music at our school. Almost every kid plays an instrument here,' Weaver said. In March 2024, Mesa Public Schools announced it would cut the equivalent of 385 full-time positions — a nearly 5% reduction — for the 2024-25 school year. The district currently has the equivalent of about 7,859 full-time positions, down from about 8,808 during the 2021-22 school year. Several other Valley school districts have made similar decisions over the past year as they've seen their student enrollment numbers decrease, including staff cuts in the Tempe Union High School District and school closures in the Roosevelt Elementary and Paradise Valley Unified school districts. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa Public Schools is cutting jobs. Here's everything we know
