Arizona House Increases School Funding on Bipartisan Vote
Arizona’s Democrat lawmakers had proposed less money for schools, but on Thursday night, they joined Republican lawmakers in passing a plan proposed By Governor Doug Ducey to settle the Cave Creek v. DeWit lawsuit for $2.2 billion in additional funds into Arizona’s K-12 schools over 5 years.
Earlier in the day, during a hearing by the House Appropriations Committee, House Rep. Lela Alston stated, “It feels odd to be the conservative here.”
The roles had indeed reversed and according to sources, one of the biggest fears for Democrats was losing control of the lack of school funding narrative as they head into the upcoming 2016 election. Rep. Otondo implied that the Republicans were passing the increase in funding in order somehow affect the many override and bond measures coming before voters next Tuesday.
However, the plaintiffs were eager to settle. Initiated by the wealthy Cave Creek Unified School District, which has increased administrative costs while decreasing teacher pay, the potential for a court win was unlikely. The settlement was far more desirable than the smaller amount in funding the Democrats sought in order to a vote by the people.
To read more: Arizona House Increases School Funding on Bipartisan Vote – click here
Our Take on “The $3.5 Billion Education Finance Deal”
While the Arizona Republican Assembly (AzRA) firmly believes that the K-12 District School System in Arizona was adequately funded with the $10.041 Billion (JLBC) in tax revenue – not counting non-tax revenues – it received in the last fiscal year (the highest in history), we also understand that sometimes it is time to stop the fighting and look to the future. Therefore, while we do not endorse that huge increase in taxpayer liability to a system that is dysfunctional, we will not actively fight the implementation if certain safeguards are put in place for the expenditure of the funds.
First, and foremost, the schools must restore spending to the classroom to the FY2006 levels by FY2018 using the Auditor General Dollars to the Classroom definition. Further, the district schools must meet the national average for spending to the classroom using the Auditor General Dollars to the Classroom definition by FY2021. The message from the ASBA has always been that we owe it to the teachers and the children. It is time to put that rhetoric into practice and put the money into the classroom. In furtherance of these goals, there must be real and actionable penalties for any school district that does not meet the stated goals.
Second, the plan published on September 22 by the Classrooms First Initiative Council advocates the elimination of the Auditor General “Dollars to the Classroom Report”. The $$$ to the Classroom Report must be retained as we move forward. In addition, there must be no redefinition of the term “Classroom Spending”. Last year, much confusion was created when SB1476 directed school districts to display FUNCTION 1000, FUNCTION 2100 and FUNCTION 2200 on the cover of their budget submissions to the ADE. FUNCTION 1000 – Instruction is the only yardstick defined nationally to determine classroom spending by the US Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics and used by the Arizona Auditor General every year since 2001. Any change in that definition will dramatically impact the public’s ability to hold their school officials accountable.
To read more: Our Take on “The $3.5 Billion Education Finance Deal” – click here