Gov. Doug Ducey is rounding up school officials to join him today in a hastily called press conference in response to the U.S. Census Bureau report on state school spending.
Ducey is attempting to distance himself from the very budget he crammed through the Legislature, with the help of Senate President Andy Biggs, this year.
Ducey is now claiming that, despite the fact that he was the State’s Treasurer for 4 years before becoming Governor, he was unaware that the State Land Trust held so much land, according to sources. The sale or lease of that land is called for by the constitution to fund schools.
According to sources, Ducey refused to access the $5 billion in the fund, but with the chamber of commerce and powerful business interests saying they will push for a sales tax if he does not increase funding for schools, he suddenly is aware of the money and claims he must change the law in order to allocate it to schools. A change to the constitution would require a vote of the people.
Ducey met with Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas yesterday. The two have been feuding over funding and control of schools since both took office in January of ths year.
Legislators were not informed of the press conference until late yesterday afternoon. Ducey has not worked well with the elected policy makers of the state, instead he has relied on a small cadre of advisors and powerful business interests to form and sell his own policies.
Ducey has worked to funnel money away from traditional public schools to privately owned corporate chain-type charter schools. He went so far this year to slip a provision in the budget that would shift money away from smaller charters, which tend to be one of the few educational sources available for rural areas, including reservations.
Many believe that one of the reasons Ducey is making the move today is to cover the fact that Republican legislators are outraged that they were hoodwinked by the Governor as they worked into the late night hammering out a budget proposal. At the time of its passage, lawmakers raised concerns about the funding, but were told by Ducey representatives that the provisions would not do what lawmakers claimed they would do and Ducey’s team brushed off their concerns as unfounded.
In May, Douglas exposed the realities of the failed funding scheme.
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