On the night of January 30, 2009, the Arizona House and Senate passed a budget that included cuts of over $350 million to public education for 2008-09. This budget was sent to Governor Jan Brewer the next morning for her signature, before the media and education supporters had a chance to examine their impact or alert the public. She issued a statement blaming the state's budget deficit on overspending, in spite of the facts that:- Arizona ranks 50th in per pupil funding
- Our teachers’ average salaries are $6,000 below the national average.
- Our pupil to teacher ratio is the second-highest in the nation
However, enrollment in many districts is up, and compared to this year, the state faces a budget deficit twice as large next year, topping $3 billion in the latest estimates.
“It’s going to be disastrous,” said Andrew Morrill, vice president of the Arizona Education Association. “It’s just an indication of the underinvestment we are making to education and in our students and in the future of the economy in Arizona.”
Mesa Unified School District, the largest in the state, estimates it will lose $8.5 million. Chandler Unified School District estimates it will lose about $3.3 million. Gilbert Unified will lose about $3.5 million.
More cuts may be in the works for next year. The state shortfall for 2010 is predicted to be twice as much as this year’s, nearly $3.3 billion.
“Arizona’s leaders are willing to shoulder the burden of their own financial mismanagement over the years on the backs of our students," says John Wright, president of Arizona Education Association. "This kind of false solution is worse than shortsightedness; it borders on malice. The decision to keep Arizona at the bottom of education funding continues to be a deliberate one.”
See a detailed list of budget options.
If you live in Arizona, please let Governor Brewer know your feelings on this.
As a state that consistently finds itself at the bottom of every national school funding list, Arizona CANNOT afford to cut education funding. A good investment in public schools is a good investment in our state’s future economy.
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3 comments:
that is just crazy. my sons school is considering changing the kindergarten from all day to half day to help with the budget cuts. i don't understand why cuts are made in such a NEEDED area. hello? do they not realize we are educating the leaders of our future?? i will for sure send a letter, thanks for the info
wow. that is plain scary.
you know somewhere in that budget is a bunch of crap that could be eliminated.
what we face here is a population explosion our schools cannot keep up with.
i still hate government crap. at our recent election they called all the library staff (of which my sister and her boyfriend are two) into a meeting and told them that if they didn't support approving slots in Maryland they would be losing their pensions. Isn't that paramount to blackmail?
Hope you get the media attention you need, but sounds as if they were just too sneaky eh?
Please also contact your district representatives, House Appropriations Chair, John Kavanagh at JKavanagh@azleg.gov, Senate Appropriations Chair, Russell Pearce at RPearce@azleg.gov and House Education Chair, Rich Crandall at RCrandall@azleg.gov.
They need to hear it from you that you feel that AZ Legislature has the power to make cuts that are reasonable and fair, and to please consider ways to increase revenues, as well as cut expenses.
The stakes are high. Our kids futures are at risk.
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