It’s back in school – but still no new money for
classrooms
It is back in school time and the state has a $266 million surplus and a $460 million rainy-day fund, but as an
Arizona Republic columnist put it, “it’s pouring on the heads of Arizona’s
schoolchildren.” Here’s what that looks like.
Last
month, school administrators reported that they needed to fill at least 1,000 teacher
positionsacross the state. The Washington Postreported
teachers are “fleeing Arizona in droves.” And the
most recent preliminary AzMERIT test scores are alarming – they show most
Arizona students are not “proficient” in math or in reading. The headline from
The Arizona Daily Star proclaimed “Early
report: Two-thirds fall short on AzMERIT test.” As we increase the
expectations for our students, we must also increase the level of support they
receive if we expect them to be successful.
The
Phoenix Business Journal reported that two companies have decided not to do
business in Arizona because of the state’s “reputation on education.”
Here’s more from the article:
“The
total number of jobs between both of these companies totaled 3,000. And they
were high-paying, too. The average wage at each company was more than double the
Phoenix average per capita wage.”
Looks like
the Republican leadership’s choices on education funding are already threatening
our economy. Without a substantial investment in public schools now, this is
what our students could continue to look forward to:
- Lower test scores – “The more money invested, the higher the test scores,” said ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy Senior Policy Analyst Dan Huntington.
- Increase in classroom sizes – a former Phoenix Elementary School District governing board member said in a recent interview that the state budget cuts meant schools had to increase their classroom sizes and freeze teacher compensation.
- Student safety impacted – some schools could have to scale back facilities maintenance, security guards and shared nurses.
In the
face of all of these challenges, and there is also a school
inflation funding lawsuit that remains unsettled. Although a judge has ruled
that schools are due $330
million from the state, the governor has still not offered a plan that would
put more money into classrooms now. But
he is talking about more tax cuts – what special interest groups will benefit
from that? What does this mean for the economic future of our state?
Let’s
#AskDuceyWhy he won’t commit to getting money back into classrooms now to make
sure there is #really #OpportunityforAll.
