PHOENIX - The Amphitheater and Tucson Unified school districts are just a signature away from having to change how they pay for desegregation programs - a significant area of money for some local schools. Tucson parents and school leaders are watching for negative fallout, and business owners are looking for possible tax savings, as bills approved last week by the Legislature make their way to Gov. Janet Napolitano's desk. The bills would limit districts' ability to increase property tax rates to raise desegregation funds, a potential boon for business owners, who currently aren't shielded from increases. Mary Levkowitz, whose family owns Chicago Music Store in Tucson, said she likes what the possible changes will do. "We pay a lot of taxes for our personal property, which I don't mind. But on the business, that end of that, I just don't think they need that for desegregation," Levkowitz said. "I don't know who they're trying to blend and why because we're well-mixed as it is." Robbin Kohn, a parent with children in TUSD schools, said saving money on taxes is important, but not at the expense of providing equal educational opportunities for all children. "We wouldn't want to pay any more than we'd have to, but then again, it probably needs to be done," Kohn said. "Every child needs to get the same as everyone else." Rep. Steve Huffman, R-Tucson, sponsor of the bills, has been working four years to get laws to change school desegregation funding and provide more accountability from public schools in this area. "We want to make sure schools are following civil rights laws," said Huffman, who represents Northwest Tucson. "We also need to have accountability." Huffman said districts won't lose any money. Funding will stay the same for districts now receiving desegregation money. These include Tucson Unified School District, with an annual desegregation budget of $62 million, and Amphitheater Public Schools, which spends $4 million a year on desegregation programs. Schools that need to increase desegregation spending or need to enact programs to comply with federal court or civil rights orders will ask lawmakers to appropriate the money, Huffman said. Falling out of compliance of civil rights laws shouldn't be a ticket to unlimited funds, he added. "To me that's shocking and offensive," Huffman said. TUSD schools would be harmed by the proposed laws, said Pat Beatty, district finance director. One of the bills expands reporting requirements. That will add to the district workload, Beatty said, and without more money, there may be cuts to programs. "That's going to require a lot of work in tracking the programs," Beatty said. "I think it will be quite time-consuming. As costs go up, like salary increases, it will mean that we will have to make cuts within the programs in order to stay in the budget." TUSD deseg spending includes money to give schools an academic focus, or theme. For example, Utterback Middle School has a theme that combines mathematics and fine arts. "It draws kids from all over the community to really integrate the school," said Patti Lopez, TUSD deputy superintendent. Lopez said desegregation money also is used to pay for smaller class sizes, providing more teacher attention per student. TUSD has asked a federal judge to close its federal desegregation case and is applying for "unitary status" - a legal term indicating the district no longer maintains a "dual" system for white and minority students. The process may take as much as a year, Beatty said. The district also has desegregation programs that are part of Office of Civil Rights agreements, Beatty said. Sam Polito, the lobbyist for all Tucson-area school districts except Sunnyside Unified, said that if the bills are signed into law, some districts may be forced to fund increased desegregation spending out of their general budgets. That means larger classes or cuts to other programs. "You have no choice. You must fund it," Polito said, referring to federal desegregation requirements. House Bill 2497 would require school districts to report their desegregation spending to the state on a yearly basis and show that the money is being spent to ensure equal educational opportunities to all students. HB 2497 would require districts to go through the state budget process for new or increased spending on desegregation. Desegregation programs in the state's schools are funded with property taxes, which Huffman says have potential to climb out of control. Current state law gives school districts the authority to levy taxes to pay for desegregation programs that the districts themselves budget. Huffman's proposal to restrict taxation for desegregation money would shield commercial property owners from tax rate increases, said Michael Hunter, vice president of the Arizona Tax Research Association. The primary tax rate to commercial property owners is currently unlimited, which makes this group vulnerable to increases in desegregation spending. The primary property tax rate to homeowners in Arizona is capped at $10 per $100 of assessed value under tax reforms passed in 1980. "Homeowners-slash-voters are insulated from any increases that occur. Businesses are not," Hunter said. Huffman said his attempts in prior years to get related bills passed were unsuccessful, with "school buses full of people coming in to lobby against" his bills. "There's just not that same reaction," Huffman said. "We're not trying to do damage to these programs. People are recognizing there is a genuine commitment to make sure these programs are adequately funded." Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, voted against Huffman's bills. He said he was concerned the reporting bill would result in "a little too much bureaucracy." "Knowing TUSD, they'll have to hire 10 more administrators to do that. I really want to see them put more money in the classroom," Paton said.