PHOENIX — A Maricopa County school district must pay about $150 million after a judge determined a group of property owners were unfairly taxed several years ago.
ABC15 reported on the impact of the lawsuit, Cashmere v. Maricopa County, on Arizona fire protection districts. A judge ruled in recent months that a group of property owners had been unfairly taxed on homes that had been reclassified as rentals or second homes. Now, that money can go to the district's attorneys. It was returned as part of the lawsuit..
The total cost is about $300 million, with Maricopa County school districts having to pay at least half of that, with costs varying by district and city based on home assessed values.
Jeff Simmons, assistant superintendent of operations for the Buckeye Union High School District, said they are owed about $900,000.
“I've been in this business for almost 30 years now, and this is by far the largest and most complex case I've ever heard of,” he said of the lawsuit and its impact.
Mesa Public Schools, the state's largest school district, will have to pay about $11.2 million. Scottsdale Unified School District will have to pay moreOver $27.5 million.
“This is due to the type of property and how it was assessed incorrectly. These properties are often rental properties,” Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Watson said.
Watson, who is seeking reelection, said the decision and the amount came down pretty quickly as districts were trying to craft their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.
“What frustrates me the most is that we're paying interest on this, which means our school district is asking taxpayers to pay additional money to pay interest on a mistake that Maricopa County made,” he said.
Watson said some districts will use cash to pay it back, while others are asking the Arizona Department of Education to recalculate their state aid to help them pay. Districts may also have to ask for tax rates to be recalculated when writing future budgets, which could ultimately come at a cost to taxpayers.
“This is a pretty heavy burden that we're asking of school districts, and we're concerned that they're being scapegoated because they're asking taxpayers for additional funding,” Watson said.
It's unclear how the money will be repaid by both school districts, as well as to the district that won the lawsuit. Watson said districts are also waiting for final numbers, which may be released in August.
