💰 The $30 Million Library Reserve Raid: Is Pima robbing Peter (PCPL) to pay Paul (PEEPS)?
📊 Follow the Money: 14 Preschool Contracts on May 6 Agenda - County set to approve $30 million in PEEPS funding from library taxes without public discussion
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
📚 Pima County is taking $10 million yearly from library taxes 💰 to fund preschool programs 👶 at $7,143 per child without voter approval. The library system has saved $38 million through responsible management 📊, but now faces potential branch closures 🚫 as its reserves are drained. County documents admit this isn't sustainable long-term 📉, with only $1.3 million remaining in PEEPS reserves by 2026. The May 6 meeting 📆 includes 14 separate agenda items approving these funds while SALC helped create the legal justification 📜 for this redirection. This creates a false choice ⚖️ between libraries and preschools when both deserve proper funding.
🗝️ Takeaways
📚 Pima County is diverting $10 million annually from library taxes to fund the PEEPS preschool program without explicit voter approval
💸 At $7,143 per child annually for approximately 1,400 children, taxpayers are unknowingly funding preschool through their library tax payments
📝 County documents explicitly state the Library District "does not have sufficient revenue streams to sustain a $10 million PEEPs program" long-term
📉 Library planning documents mention "Strategically Recalibrating Small Branches" and "Reimagining Staffing" - bureaucratic code for potential closures and cuts
📅 The May 6, 2025, Board of Supervisors meeting includes 14 consecutive agenda items approving $30 million in PEEPS funding from library taxes
🤝 SALC helped engineer a "creative interpretation" that classified preschool funding as "early childhood literacy" to justify using library taxes
📚 The Great Library Heist: How SALC Helped Divert Book Money to Fund Preschools
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: A Three Sonorans Investigation
Is the Pima County Public Library being sacrificed to fund preschool education? A Three Sonorans investigation into county budget documents, meeting agendas, and public statements reveals a troubling pattern of diverting library tax funds to support the Pima Early Education Program (PEEPS) — all while library branches face potential closures and service reductions.
Let's follow the money trail.
The $30 Million Question
The Pima County Free Library District has long been a model of fiscal responsibility, consistently spending less than it collects in tax revenue. This prudent management has resulted in a healthy reserve fund of approximately $38 million, as clearly documented in County Administrator Jan Lesher's September 10, 2024, memorandum to the Board of Supervisors.
Most taxpayers would expect this money to be reinvested in libraries — perhaps updating facilities, expanding collections, or enhancing digital services. Instead, county officials have orchestrated a redirection of these funds to the tune of $10 million annually to fund preschool education.
Because apparently running your department responsibly and within budget means your reserves become fair game for other projects entirely.
The financial report for the Pima County Free Library District provides the smoking gun:
"The Library Fund is expected to have an unrestricted fund balance of $38 million, which is allocated as follows: [...] Pima Early Education Program (PEEPs): Starting in FY 2022/23, 1 cent of the secondary property taxes is earmarked for the PEEPs program. By the end of FY 2024/25, there will be approximately $3.1 million of tax revenues reserved for this purpose."
Additionally, the April 25, 2025, budget transmittal from Jan Lesher explicitly states:
"In FY 2021/22, the County initiated the Pima Early Education Program with the aim of increasing the enrollment of income-eligible 3- to 5-year-old children in evidence-based high-quality preschools. The program was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act through FY 2024/25 and will be funded by the Library District beginning in FY 2025/26… annual $10 million allocation throughout the timeframe."
There it is in black and white: money collected from taxpayers for libraries will now fund preschools instead.
$7,143 Per Child: Is This What Taxpayers Intended?
The PEEPS program currently serves approximately 1,400 children from low-income families. With $10 million in annual funding, that amounts to roughly $7,143 per child per year — a significant investment in early childhood education.
No one disputes the value of early childhood education. The question is whether voters and taxpayers knowingly approved library taxes to be spent this way.
When you voted for the library tax, did you intend for it to fund preschool at over $7,000 per child? Were you ever asked if you wanted your library tax to be redirected? The evidence suggests not.
The Library Planning Document That Signals Trouble
While money flows from library coffers to preschool programs, the library system itself faces an uncertain future. A strategic planning document titled "Library of the Future" outlines plans for "Strategically Recalibrating Small Branches," including the Dewhirst-Catalina Library, Santa Rosa Library, and Southwest branches.
Translation: We're taking your library money for other purposes, and now we might need to close some libraries. What a coincidence!
The document also discusses "Reimagining Staffing" and "Budgetary Impact" — bureaucratic euphemisms that often signal service reductions and staff cuts. These plans have been put on hold after a massive public outcry, but would branch closures and staff cuts be necessary if PEEPS were not taking $10 million annually from the library tax?
The Paper Trail: 14 Agenda Items at Once
Perhaps the most telling evidence comes from the May 6, 2025, Board of Supervisors meeting agenda. Items 35 through 48 — a staggering 14 agenda items—all concern securing PEEPS funding for the next three years. According to Jan Lesher's April 25 memo, these contracts total approximately $30 million, or $10 million annually, to be paid from the library reserve fund.
These items include:
Contract with Tucson Unified School District for $4,666,356 over 3 years
Contract with Marana Unified School District for $1,503,603 over 3 years
Contract with Child-Parent Centers for $2,812,785 over 3 years
Contract with Amphitheater Public Schools for $4,666,356 over 3 years
Contract with Sunnyside Unified School District for $1,399,906 over 3 years
Several amendments to existing contracts to extend them through 2026
The sheer number of contracts being approved at once raises serious questions about transparency and public input. Is this intentional obfuscation designed to minimize scrutiny?
How Did This Happen? SALC's Behind-the-Scenes Role
While the primary issue is the diversion of taxpayer funds, it's worth noting who helped make this possible. Enter the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC), a business group led by Major General Ted Maxwell.
During a recent Buckmaster Show interview, Maxwell revealed SALC's instrumental role in facilitating this funding redirection:
"When you look at the library taxing districts... when you talk about early childhood literacy and getting those programs that will teach early childhood literacy, the majority of the county said, we can do that already," Maxwell stated. "At the time the ruling from the Pima County attorney to the board was that the language wasn't clear. So can you use this library district to focus on early childhood literacy or not? And we're going, that's the basis of a library."
This "creative interpretation" of what constitutes library services served as the legal justification for redirecting funds. Maxwell further admitted:
"Our point is this PEEPS program doesn't have to be funded completely by the public sector."
So rather than advocating for proper funding from appropriate sources, SALC helped create a budgetary shell game that leaves both libraries and preschools in precarious positions.
A Crisis of Sustainability: The Numbers Don't Add Up
The county's own financial projections reveal the unsustainability of this approach. According to County Administrator Lesher's memo, by the start of FY 2026, approximately $7.7 million will be available to fund PEEPS. When combined with remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds of $3.6 million, this will sustain the program at the $10 million level for FY 2025/26.
However, this will leave only $1.3 million in the PEEPS reserve by the end of that fiscal year.
The September 10, 2024, memo is even more blunt:
"The Library District does not have sufficient revenue streams to sustain a $10 million PEEPs program on an annual basis without significant restructuring. The options listed above provide ways to sustain the PEEPS program for a limited period, neither offers a permanent solution to ensure long term funding."
In other words, this funding scheme robs libraries today and leaves preschools without sustainable funding tomorrow. It's a lose-lose proposition for the community.
The False Choice: Books vs. Preschools
This manufactured crisis creates a false choice for Pima County residents. Either support libraries or support preschools — you can't have both.
But why should we accept this framing? Both services are essential. Both deserve proper funding.
The City of Tucson, facing its own budget challenges, has proposed cutting its contribution to PEEPS. Mayor Regina Romero has correctly identified the broader fiscal context:
"I cannot stress enough how much damage the Doug Ducey flat tax is doing," said Mayor Regina Romero. "A flat tax on income really favors corporations and the wealthy in Arizona."
While corporate tax cuts slice into public revenue, essential services are forced to cannibalize each other. How convenient for the wealthy and powerful that the resulting conflict distracts from the real issue — systematic underfunding of public services.
The Impact on Families and Communities
The implications of this funding diversion are significant for families across Pima County. The PEEPS program currently serves over 1,400 children from low-income families, with 75% belonging to racial or ethnic minorities and 21% being dual-language learners. With an annual budget of $10 million serving approximately 1,400 children, that amounts to roughly $7,143 per child per year—a significant investment in early childhood education. These scholarships are vital for working families who cannot afford preschool tuition.
At the same time, libraries serve as essential community resources, providing internet access, educational materials, and safe spaces for people of all ages. Any potential branch closures or service reductions would disproportionately impact those same communities that benefit from PEEPS.
This creates a no-win situation for the very families both programs aim to serve, forcing them to choose between early childhood education and library services when both are integral to their children's development and success.
The cruel irony is that these services serve many of the same families. The parent who relies on PEEPS for their preschooler may also depend on the library for their older children's homework assistance or their own job search resources.
Who Decides How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent?
At its core, this issue is about democratic governance and accountability. Should those funds be redirected without explicit voter approval when voters approve taxes for specific purposes?
The county's approach raises serious questions about transparency and respect for taxpayer intent. Suppose officials can reinterpret the purpose of the library tax to include preschool funding. What prevents them from further expanding this "creative interpretation" to include other programs entirely unrelated to libraries? Perhaps the library tax should fund culinary schools since the libraries have a lot of cooking books?
Today it's preschool funding. Tomorrow it could be road repair or jail expansion — all justified by increasingly tenuous connections to "library services."
What You Can Do: A Call to Action
If you believe in both strong libraries AND quality preschool education — but also believe each deserves honest, transparent, sustainable funding — your voice matters now more than ever:
Attend the May 6, 2025, Board of Supervisors meeting - Items 35-48 concern PEEPS funding from library reserves. Make your concerns known during the Call to the Public.
Contact your Supervisor - Let them know you support both libraries and PEEPS but want transparent, dedicated funding for each.
Demand answers - Ask your elected officials:
Why was this funding approach chosen rather than creating dedicated funding for PEEPS?
What is the long-term sustainability plan for both libraries and PEEPS?
Why weren't voters consulted about redirecting library taxes?
Spread the word - Share this investigation with friends, family, and neighbors who care about libraries, education, and transparent governance.
Support Independent Journalism at Three Sonorans
This type of investigative reporting takes time, resources, and dedication. As corporate media increasingly abandons in-depth local reporting, independent voices like Three Sonorans become essential for holding power accountable.
Your support enables us to continue digging through public documents, connecting the dots, and bringing you the unvarnished truth about how your tax dollars are being spent. Without independent journalism, who would be shining a light on these budgetary maneuvers?
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A Note of Hope
Despite this investigation's troubling findings, there is reason for optimism. When citizens become informed and engaged, positive change follows. Both libraries and early childhood education have broad community support, and creative solutions exist that don't require sacrificing one for the other.
By rejecting false choices and demanding transparent, sustainable funding for essential services, we can create a Pima County that values libraries and preschool education—not as competitors for scarce resources but as complementary investments in our shared future.
Join the Conversation
What do you think about the redirection of library taxes to fund preschool programs? Did you know your library taxes were being used this way? How would you prefer to see both libraries and early childhood education funded in our community?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
¡Hasta la victoria siempre!
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