Governor Brewer
GOVERNOR JAN BREWER
.The Honorable Jan Brewer
Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
http://www.governor.state.az.us/contact.asp
Telephone (602) 542-4331/(800) 253-0883
Fax (602) 542-1382
._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PERSONAL DATA:
Education: Radiological Technologist Certification
Residence: Glendale, Moved to AZ is 1970
Former Occupation: Small Business Owner
POLITICAL TIMELINE:
1982: Elected to the State House of Representatives
1986: Elected to the State Senate
1993: Chosen Majority Whip of the Senate
1996: Elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Eventually Served as Chairwoman
2002: Elected Arizona Secretary of State; Reelected in 2006
2009: Succeeded to Governor’s Office Upon the Resignation of Governor Janet Napolitano
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
KEY EDUCATION & BUDGET ADVISORS: Policy Advisor K-12 Education:
Karla Phillips (602) 542-4334
kphillips@az.gov
DIRECTOR-Southern Arizona Office
Tim Bee (520) 628-6585
tbee@az.gov
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
.
RECORD ON EDUCATION – BILLS SIGNED |
December 23, 2009 – Signed Fifth Special Session legislation (SB1001 General Appropriation Reductions; Transfers) approving $200 million in cuts and various fund transfers from state agencies to the state general fund. The bill cut $330k and transferred $8 million in funds appropriated to the School Facilities Board back to the general fund in addition to cutting $4.6 million from the overall Arizona Department of Education budget. Large reductions were made to the Department of Economic Security and Department of Health Services.
November 23, 2009 – Signed Fourth Special Session bills SB1001, SB1002 repealing the previously enacted K-12 Education budget for FY 2009-10 and cutting $144 million from K-12 classrooms. An additional $155 million was also cut from the Department of Economic Services (DES) that extend to developmentally disabled children and adults.
September 4, 2009 – Second Round -Third Special Session:
HB2012 suspended capital outlay for community colleges, funds community college dual enrollment at 50% of the state aid the college would otherwise receive from students, cut $100 million from universities, and “appropriates $100m from the general fund to (the universities) in FY 2010-11 for the deferral of payments in FY 2009-10 which is to be distributed (to the universities) no later than Oct 1, 2010.”
HB2006 Governor Brewer again used her line-item veto on the part of this bill which repealed the previously enacted K-12 budget of FY2009-10 (see July 8th below) and assigned the same lump sum reductions to education and other state services that were line-item vetoed by her on July 1, 2009. What made it into law: Language stating that $472 million in K-12 payments would not be paid from the state general fund this year if the same anticipated amount was received in federal stimulus dollars. There was also a last-minute requirement added by Sen. Jack Harper that the number of full-time employees supported by the state General Fund be reduced by 5% across the board by Feb 1, 2010.
HB2011 Gov. Brewer also line-item vetoed several large cuts to education in this bill, including a $175 reduction in soft capital (classroom spending) , a $5 million reduction to charter schools . Cuts to education that made it through into law include the continued freeze on the building renewal fund ($230m), no funding for excess utilities ($80m), fund reductions for Career Ladder payments to teachers, repeal of rapid decline funding ($2.2m), JTED freeze to FY09 levels ($75m cut), etc.
July 8, 2009 – First Round of Third Special Session bills:
Governor Brewer’s veto of SB1188 in the first regular legislative session had kept the legislature from deep making cuts to education but effectively left charter and district schools without funding for FY09-2010. HB2001remedied the void and (temporarily) restored funding to the prior year’s figures. The bills signed during this session also allowed Arizona to maintain eligibility for more than $2 billion in federal stimulus dollars.
HB2002 (K-12 Education; Budget Reconciliation) increased charter school funding for K-12, eliminated ‘repeat’ Kindergarten funding, specified base level per-pupil dollars for FY09-10, etc.…though those these numbers were up for debate again before the ink even dried on the bill. (See bills from the Fourth & Fifth Special Sessions above.)
May 29, 2009 – Signed special session legislation (H2001), allowing an additional $5 million in tax money to be applied to private school tuition. The special session was called in response to the Supreme Court ruling on Cain v. Horne, which ruled that private school vouchers were unconstitutional. (Article IX, Section 10 of the Arizona Constitution reads: “No tax shall be laid or appropriation of public money made in aid of any church, or private or sectarian school, or any public service corporation”). The additional tax dollars allocated to private schools comes in addition to the $14.4 million in corporate private school tax credits and over $54 million in individual private school tax credits already in existence in our state.
May 15, 2009 – Signed legislation (H2028, H2029) postponing $400 million of 2009 state education payments ($100 million University, $300 million K-12) into the next fiscal year. Also signed legislation permitting the sweep of district education funds in excess of year end operating budgets. These sweeps would reduce proportionately state funds due to districts.
January 31, 2009 – Signed special-session budget legislation (SB1001 -1006) which included cutting $133 million in state aid to K-12 public schools, $141 million in university funding and $9 million to community colleges.
Looking for more information? ASBA’s excellent summary of all education-related bills not covered here (fingerprint regulations, building codes, etc.) for the First Regular Session and First and Second Special Sessions of the 49th Legislature can be found here.
RECORD ON EDUCATION – BILLS VETOED |
Education Related Vetoes in 2009
First Regular Session
HB2644 Budget Reconciliation; General Revenues, July 1, 2009
HB2645 Budget Reconciliation; General Government, July 1, 2009
HB2648 Budget Reconciliation; K-12 Education; Trailer, July 1, 2009
HB2649 Budget Reconciliation; Higher Education, July 1, 2009
SB1029 Budget Reconciliation; Higher Education, July 1, 2009
SB1035 Budget Reconciliation; General Government, July 1, 2009
SB1036 Budget Reconciliation; General Revenues, July 1, 2009
SB1464 State Budget Reports; Financial Condition, July 13, 2009
Third Special Session
SB1025 General Revenues; Budget Reconciliation, September 4, 2009
First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Special Session (no bills vetoed)
Education-Related Line-item vetoes in 2009
First Regular Session
HB2643 General Appropriations Act for FY 2009-10, July 1, 2009
SB1187 Budget Reconciliation; K-12, July 1, 2009
SB1188 General Appropriations Act, July 1, 2009
Third Special Session
HB2006 General Appropriations; Fiscal Year 2009-2010, Sept. 4, 2009
HB2011 K-12; Budget Reconciliation, September 4, 2009
First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Special Session (no bills vetoed)
RECORD ON EDUCATION – PROPOSALS |
December 21, 2009 – Public Cabinet Presentation on Arizona’s Budget Status – Click here to view Powerpoint presentation.
An excerpt from the Governor’s address to the cabinet:
“Although the Legislature will be required to act to resolve the biggest issues, I can take some steps unilaterally. Therefore, at my personal direction, the following steps will be taken immediately:
ONE: I am ordering my budget office to work with each of you to develop additional contingency plans in anticipation of additional agency reductions and to adjust spending allotments accordingly.
TWO: I am also ordering agencies to transfer monies out of all eligible special line items to ensure that they have sufficient funds to cover mandatory expenditures.
THREE: I am asking the Department of Education and the Board of Regents to notify school districts and universities to prepare for additional payment deferrals later in the year, beyond those already budgeted.
FOURTH: I am ordering the Arizona Department of Corrections to return to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) — as soon as possible — all non-violent criminal aliens as is allowed under existing law.
FIVE: I am restating my Arizonans-only directives to state agencies to ensure that public benefits are only provided to those who are legally in this country and reside in this state…
SIX: I am asking ALL directors with discretionary programs to provide me with a list of non-mandatory programs that can be capped due to a lack of funding.
While many of these programs are important, and their freeze will be heartbreaking and difficult for many Arizona families, the Legislature simply has not committed enough funding for their continuation and we must divert resources to the programs that ARE mandated…”
(for full speech relating to cabinet address, please click here)
May 4, 2009 – Governor releases a “Five Point Plan” to address state budget
Governor Brewer’s long-term economic recovery plan centers on five proposals:
1. Structural Budget Reform
2. Changes to Proposition 105 – the Voter Protection Act
3. Additional spending cuts of up to $1 billion dollars by 2010
4. State tax structural reform
5. Temporary Tax Increase to add $1 billion/year to the state general fund.
Further details on Governor Brewer’s proposal can be found here.
RECORD ON EDUCATION – SPEECHES, ARTICLES, MEDIA RELEASES |
The information below is not comprehensive by any means – if you have additional information that you would like to add to our archives, please forward it to info@arizonaeducationnetwork.com.
We will only post information which can be sourced: all of the items below are followed by a link that will connect you to the full article, speech or media release.
Governor Brewer – Education and Related Budget News Archive
March 9, 2010 – Arizona Daily Star: Education cuts are certain if proposed sales tax is rejected
Arizona could owe the federal government almost as much money as a proposed sales tax increase would raise if voters reject it.
A contingency plan for what would have to be cut if the 1-cent levy fails at the ballot proposes to slash nearly $428.6 million in aid to education. That would be on top of more than $380 million lawmakers are proposing to cut to balance next year’s budget, no matter what, including eliminating state funding for full-day kindergarten.
And the university system, which escaped unscathed in the basic budget proposal, would take a 12 percent across-the-board cut. That translates to nearly $39.3 million for the main campus of Arizona State University, more than $32.6 million for the University of Arizona and in excess of $16 million for Northern Arizona University.
The thing is, when Arizona accepted $832 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as stimulus dollars, Gov. Jan Brewer signed an agreement that Arizona would not reduce funding for education below what it was in 2006. These two cuts would bust that agreement – by a lot.
“It would take our state funding of education back 10 years,” said gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman, to the levels of 2001. If that happens, Senseman said, Brewer will apply for a waiver of the accord she signed last year that would absolve Arizona of having to pay back the federal stimulus aid…
…Even if the sales tax is approved, the deal between Republican legislative leaders and Brewer formally unveiled Monday paints a picture of major changes in the state. One of the most visible would be elimination of full-day kindergarten.
Link (Fischer)
March 8, 2010 – Fox News 11: Seventh special budget session (video) Link
March 5, 2010 - San Pedro Valley News-Sun: Gov Brewer to Benson: Sales tax hike the way to go
If voters reject the sales-tax increase, Brewer said more cuts will take place, and a contingency budget is ready. “I am trying to protect public education, which is the cornerstone for our future and the basis for our economic recovery,” she said. “If this sales tax does not pass, we will then cut another $1 billion out of the budget.”
Education makes up 60 percent of the state’s entire budget, and Benson Superintendent of Schools David Woodall said when the subject comes up he feels a little like the “white elephant” in the room.
Woodall and other members of the Benson community spoke to the governor about programs and city needs…he commended Brewer for pushing for the sales-tax increase, agreeing that with the deficit Arizona is facing a new revenue source is necessary to avoid extreme cuts.
The 20-year administrator said if voters approve the sales-tax increase the Benson School District is still looking at a $300,000 to $400,000 cut in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
Without the sales tax, the rural school district will have to cut $1 million from the budget and cut staff by up to 20 percent. The Benson School District is one of the city’s top employers with 175 teachers and staff.
“We’ve tightened our belts and school districts realize they have to be a part of the solution,” Woodall said. “But I feel like we are on our last notch. The governor has shown tremendous courage to say we need more.”
Brewer said last year’s federal stimulus funds that helped cover the costs of education are now gone. Her goal is to keep all budget levels as they were in 2006. Without the sales tax, Brewer said Arizona would not recover for eight to 10 years.
“Today we all know that the checkbook is overdrawn, the credit card is maxed out and we’ve mortgaged the house. If we don’t get that temporary tax there’s not going to be any protection for a lot of things,” Brewer said. “It’s going to be very painful. If we don’t do what’s right today we will pay for it for years to come.”
Link (Grimes)
March 2, 2010 – Sierra Vista Herald: Superintendent’s Corner: Importance of May 18 vote
…In addition to the local decline in next year’s funding, school districts across the state are bracing for an additional 20 to 30 percent reduction in state funding, should the Proposition 101 sales tax increase fail. The vote for this increase will be held on May 18.
Failure of this initiative would mean that Sierra Vista Unified School District would need to reduce our current operating expenses by an additional $7,200,000 in the 2010-2011 school year. A 20 percent state funding reduction of this magnitude, combined with the local funding losses, would be a single-year budget reduction of $9,500,000 out of an already inadequate $35 million budget for next school year. Gov. Brewer has made her opinion on these cuts clear.
“If we don’t get the additional revenue in 2011, it will be a disaster. 2012 will be a major catastrophe.” That is a direct quote from Gov. Brewer. I agree with the governor; if the school district has to reduce its operating budget by almost $10 million next year, it will require unprecedented changes and serious additional cuts.
We are in difficult financial times. Will the 1 cent sales tax save us? No. Will it help alleviate next year’s estimated $3 billion state budget deficit? Absolutely. Will there be continued cuts to public education funding if the 1 cent sales tax passes? Probably, but not to the extent that they would be without the tax increase. Hopefully, the temporary sales tax increase will buy some much-needed time as the economy recovers…
Link (Agenbroad editorial)
March 1, 2010 – Horizon: Interview with Governor Jan Brewer (video discussing budget, one-cent sales tax proposal)
Ted Simons: We had Treasurer Dean Martin on talking about the concept of refinancing debt, a one-time refinance of debt, as a way to not only avoid cuts but to keep from selling off buildings, etc. What do you make of that idea?
Governor Brewer: Well, it is no difference from you and I consolidating our debt. And of course, it increases our debt $2.5 BILLION dollars more than we are already in debt for. So, It’s not a solution, it’s not anything new. It’s not anything that anyone has taken very serious. It’s something that I think was just thrown out there and not well thought out. I think the common person would say “no” to something like that.
Ted Simons: …the big solution for you has always been this temporary one-cent sales tax for three years. Are you comfortable being the leader of this campaign?
Governor Brewer: Well, you know I had to take a position and I had to get my hands around this whole situation early on. And I too resisted for the first few months if you..you know, going in and realizing just how catastrophic how this situation really was. And I kept having the finest people – economists in my office from universities and within this state saying ‘we’ve got to figure out how we can do this’ and every one of them came back and said ‘there is no way that you will turn the state around without decimating the state of Arizona unless you get more revenue in’, and everytime they showed me the numbers, it just never changed. So finally, I determined – someone who has never voted for a tax increase in her life as a public official – that I had to be a leader and I had to tell the people the truth and move forward. So I believe, that based on the information that was provided to me, and my history of being a fiscal conservative, that I will take that message out there…
Ted Simons: But you mentioned politics, and it is political, and already we are hearing a lot of people…you are pushing for the largest tax increase in Arizona history. How do you respond?
Governor Brewer: It is the right thing to do. Sometimes, when we are faced with challenges, it is really a test of your values and a test of your character….I just give people the information and the facts, and they can decide. You know, we’ve already reduced a billion dollars out of the budget in the state of Arizona, and that made a lot of people uncomfortable. I have cut government more than any other governor in the history of our state; now I am preparing to cut another billion dollars out of the current budget that we are in session for right now. That’s really painful, really difficult, when you think about we are going to take 310,000 people off of AHCCS, we going to take 47,000 kids off of KidsCare, we are going to take 17,000 SIMI – seriously mental ill people – off of insurance…that’s half that population. You know – 5% paycuts, employees laid off…I’m getting ready to close down the Dept of Juvenille Corrections (send it to the counties), I mean , we have done some really dramatic cuts, of which are necessary. And then, if this tax doesn’t pass that means we’ll have another billion dollars on top of it. We are worse off, kid, than any other state in the country. We are worse off than Michigan, and we are worse off than California per capita…
Ted Simons: …For many years in Arizona, when it comes to personal income tax especially, no one seems to want to say “Yes” to increasing those particular taxes. There is a line of thought – a line of reasoning out there – that if those tax cuts had not had happened so regularly…the state would be in better condition. I want to ask you, you were in the legislator. Would that Jan Brewer, knowing what you know now, in this situation, as a fiscal conservative…some of those votes, do you look back on and say – hmm – maybe we should have bumped things up a little bit to avoid (this type of bad situation)?
Governor Brewer: I think that when I was in the legislature things weren’t as – um - crazy as they have been in the last 10,12 years. I think there was a more realistic approach to it. We’ve always known that Arizona’s tax system is out of whack, and it is something that needs to be addressed, and that’s I have called for. I’ve called for tax reform…I agree that we need to look at tax cuts to make it more profitable and competitive…for businesses…we have to reward those businesses who have stuck with us in the tough times, but then we need to be competitive with Texas, NM, NV to bring new businesses into AZ. It’s got to happen – and I’m all for it, but it needs to happen on a delayed basis. And we need to look at the whole structure, and reform how Arizona operates to be successful…
Ted Simons: Critics are saying…they are saying if this tax goes through, and a “job recovery act”…which calls for more business tax cuts and personal income tax cuts (which we’ve had a steady decline in personal income taxes for the past 20-some odd years) – if that goes through, than this sales tax increase means nothing. How do you respond?
Governor Brewer: Well, I’m all for a jobs program, and I’m all for tax reform, and I believe that they are trying to encourage the legislature to look at kinds of approaches to encourage businesses to stay here and encourage businesses to come here. I’m not going to comment on what I would do…how I would react until it comes to my desk. But, you know, it’s pretty obvious that I believe…that I think that it would need a delayed enactment on it, down the road. It wouldn’t be tit for tat. It would be…it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either if we are going to go for a tax increase and then give tax cuts at this particular time…
*Governor Brewer also addressed health care, solar energy bills and credits and other issues in this discussion. Please see link below to view the full interview.
Link (Simons)
February 28, 2010 – Arizona Republic: Arizona lawmakers hope to make strides this week
Lawmakers will bear down on the state budget this week, with their calendars cleared of unrelated bills.
The so-called “budget week” is expected to produce major strides on a plan that would bring the state’s spending for this year and next into line with its sagging revenues.
…Lawmakers will work off the budget that Gov. Jan Brewer presented in January. Her plan calls for $8.6 billion in spending, with cuts to health care for children and lower-income adults, elimination of the state Department of Juvenile Corrections and other reductions that have drawn gasps for the severity of their reach…
Legislators have said they will write a budget that relies on the 1-cent-per-dollar increase in the sales tax passing, as well as a plan that assumes it fails. The tax is expected to raise $800 million to $1 billion a year.
…House Majority Leader John McComish, R-Phoenix, said that without the extra money from the tax, lawmakers face grim choices.
“It’s a dark scenario,” he said.
Even if voters do approve it, the money would not be enough to close the deficit. That means lawmakers must make further cuts to state programs and/or take on more debt.
Those decisions are likely to be made in closed-door, “small group” discussions involving only Republicans. Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, and Democrats said they have not been approached about offering any budget solutions.
Link (Pitzl)
February 26, 2010 – White Mountain Independent: NPC group lobbies to keep GED funding
Did you drop out of high school and not return for a diploma? The chances of correcting that oversight may soon be much more difficult and far more costly.
Budget cuts proposed by Gov. Jan Brewer will eliminate funding for the free instruction that helps those trying to earn General Equivalency Diplomas (GEDs).
…A number of groups met with their appropriate state legislators to garner support for continued funding…Following the meetings, the advocates re-grouped for a press conference at which time a number of sympathetic state legislators addressed the gathering. These included Reps. Phil Lopes, David Bradley, Nancy Young-Wright, Ana Tovar and Senator Linda Lopez.
The next stop after the press conference was a visit to both the Senate and House galleries. During their visit to the Senate, the group was surprised by an announcement from Senator Carolyn Allen, who stated to her senate colleagues that she knew the program was important because she, too, had gotten her GED; her diploma now proudly resides on her office wall!
An estimated 20,000 persons sit for GED examinations in Arizona every year. If the $3 million in state funds are cut, Arizona will also lose an additional $11 million in matching federal dollars that help pay for instructional assistance.
February 26, 2010 – Arizona Republic: Arizonans weigh in on proposed sales-tax increase
Gov. Jan Brewer and nearly 100 other Arizonans are urging voters to approve a proposed temporary sales tax, calling it necessary to keep the state’s fiscal condition from getting worse…
…The Secretary of State’s office said Friday it received 120 arguments — 94 for, 26 against — for the official publicity pamphlet that will be mailed to voter households before the May 18 special election.
The only question on the statewide ballot, Proposition 100, would raise the sales tax to 6.6 cents on the dollar, up from 5.6 cents currently, for three years. Local jurisdictions such as school districts also can have their questions on the ballot.
Gov. Jan Brewer called the tax increase “temporary but necessary” to avoid damaging important services.
“Funding will go to our universities and community colleges to keep higher education affordable. It will keep felons locked up, and it will provide Arizona’s poorest families the basic help they earnestly need,” she said.
Other supporters include university presidents, state agency heads, social-service advocates and leaders of education groups, labor unions and several major business groups.
The tax increase covers only about a third of the state’s budget shortfall, but without it, “additional budget cuts to children, K-12 education and health care will be so deep that Arizona may never recover our state infrastructure and competitiveness,” two Children’s Action Alliance leaders said…
…Brewer originally proposed the sales tax increase last March, saying it would be used with spending cuts and federal stimulus dollars to close several years of state budget shortfalls. Legislators agreed earlier this month to refer the tax increase to voters.
Link (Davenport)
February 26, 2010 – Yuma Sun: Brewer may cut adult education
In an effort to close the current state deficit of $1.3 billion, Gov. Jan Brewer has proposed eliminating several Arizona Department of Education programs aimed toward adult learners.
Currently the state supports GED (general equivalency diploma) and adult education courses with a $4.4 million fund, noted Karen Liersch, deputy associate superintendent of adult education services for ADE.
Liersch noted that the state’s adult education also receives $11 million from the federal government but it requires Arizona to maintain a 1 to 3 ratio of matching funds. That means the state must contribute one dollar for every three federal dollars, she said.
In addition, the federal government requires Arizona to sustain a “maintenance of effort” where the state continues to fund adult education by 90 percent of its current effort, she noted.
“So if the state cuts adult education, the feds will cut support proportionally. We’re at risk with the governor’s proposal of losing $15 million.”
That money supports more than 40,000 people who take the GED and receive adult education currently, Liersch said. And there are 7,000 on the waiting list for adult classes. The legislature must still vote whether to approve Gov. Brewer’s proposal before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Adult education is one of the few state expenses that sees almost immediate return on investment, said Liersch. Adults completing GED almost immediately earn higher salaries, buy more goods and pay more taxes which increases state revenues, she added.
“People attend adult education to keep a job, get better jobs, or to go on to post-secondary education. So without this program none of this would be possible.”
Link (Roller)
February 17, 2010 – Pew Center on the States: States renege on local aid
In Arizona, Governor Brewer wants to defer about $350 million that is owed to school districts this fiscal year until next fiscal year. At the Flagstaff Unified School District, budget and finance director Adrianne Sanchez would have to make up about $8 million from a $64 million budget. Last year, Sanchez says, the state rolled over a payment into the current fiscal year, promising schools they would get their money by July. The July promise turned into August, then September. Finally, on November 4, Flagstaff got its deferred payment, thanks to stimulus funds. “They don’t have stimulus dollars this year, so I don’t know where they’re going to get it from,” Sanchez says.
She is preparing for further state budget cuts ranging from $6 million to $14.5 million, depending on the outcome of this spring’s election to temporarily raise the state sales tax. School officials are considering tapping into a $10 million line of credit as well as closing two schools.
Link (Harrison)
February 14, 2010 – Arizona Republic: Tax was rare bi-partisan compromise
…None of the lawmakers who voted for the tax referral were happy about the move. But they said it was a better option than the cuts that would happen if the state doesn’t get the nearly $1 billion a year the tax is expected to generate.
Senate Minority Whip Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, who worked with her Republican counterpart to round up the “yes” votes, said many of her Democratic colleagues resisted, saying the tax hike was an imperfect solution.
True, she said, but the alternative was uglier: Deeper cuts to schools, health care and other programs.
“If this doesn’t pass, 2011 will be a monstrosity,” she said.
While Brewer was the impetus for the sales-tax hike, lawmakers said she was a minor factor in swinging the vote – although her steadfast insistence on getting the tax wore down lawmakers over the past year.
Link (Pitzl)
February 12, 2010 – East Valley Tribune: GED funding cut would hit E.V. adults hard
Delgado and several of her classmates taking the classes through the Mesa Unified School District’s community education department are all worried that their dreams may be dashed by Gov. Jan Brewer’s proposal to cut adult education funding in the state…
…Arizona faces more than a $3 billion shortfall next fiscal year, which begins July 1. As part of Brewer’s cost-savings measures, she proposed cuts to nonformula education funding, which includes adult education, state funding of gifted programs, tutoring assistance for Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards, and more.
Should the state cut its funding of adult education, it could lose the federal dollars that also support the program, said Karen Liersch, deputy associate superintendent for adult education services at the Arizona Department of Education.
This fiscal year, the department was allocated about $4.5 million from the state and more than $11 million from the federal government to offer classes, maintain a record of transcripts and diplomas for students, and partially fund testing sites where students go to take their final exams.
“If we lose 100 percent of state funds, we would lose 100 percent of federal dollars,” Liersch said.
“Last year we had 14,500 adults pass the (GED) test,” Liersch said. “They were able to get their high school diploma, get a job, get into the military, enter post-secondary education. That’s really good for the state economy.”
Link (Reese)
February 12, 2010 – KOLD TV: Teach for America in Arizona getting $2 million in stimulus aid
Arizona governor Jan Brewer announced Thursday $2 million in stimulus funding will go to Teach for America. The money comes from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) Government Services Fund, granted through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
“I am pleased to announce the award of $2 million of my discretionary funds to Teach For America,” said Governor Brewer. “Teach For America is an organization that has helped recruit, train, and support thousands of teachers for schools in low income communities. With continued advocacy and support, Teach For America will maintain its mission to end educational inequity and provide all children with the opportunity to attain an excellent education.”
Teach for America (TFA) will use the $2 million to expand its program. That includes bringing in as many as 200 new corps members and increasing the number of students growing up in low-income communities from 20,000 to 25,000.
Link (Steigerwald)
February 12, 2010 – The Daily Courier: NAU/Yavapai venture takes center stage during governor visit
One of the first things Gov. Jan Brewer did when she took office in Jan. 2009 was to ask the state’s higher education leaders to find a way to produce 50 percent more baccalaureate degrees by 2020. When she toured Yavapai College and Northern Arizona University’s new joint education building at the Prescott Valley Library campus on Friday, she pronounced it a “miracle.”
The joint project between the Town of Prescott Valley, Yavapai College and Northern Arizona University will allow students to tailor their studies and finish their degrees in as little as three years, at a much lower cost than a traditional university program. Brewer said the NAU/Yavapai venture sets an example for higher education in the state and nation.
The program, called NAU/Yavapai, expects to enroll some 100 students in fall 2010. Haeger said the dream is to bring as many as 3,000 to 5,000 students to the campus within 10 years…
…”I had no idea,” Brewer said. “I had been briefed a little bit about what was going on up here, but it’s much better than I expected. You have done something that is visionary, to have the private sector, the public sector and the local government all coming together.
“It’s a miracle,” she said, “And that’s a big word.”
Link (Dahms-Foster)
February 11, 2010 – Yuma Sun: Sales tax hike headed for May 18 vote
While the action does pave the way for the election, it still leaves the state far short of the dollars necessary to actually balance the books.
Lawmakers had previously agreed to borrow $750 million for the next 20 years in a pair of transactions, one borrowing against future lottery proceeds and the other by selling off $300 million of state buildings and leasing them back.
But the dispute between the House and Senate resulted in the death of another bill which would have deferred into next budget year $450 million in payments that actually are due to public schools and universities this fiscal year.
And the sales tax hike, even if approved by voters in May, won’t begin generating dollars until after the current budget year ends June 30.
Paul Senseman, press aide to Gov. Jan Brewer, said she is not worried. Senseman said there is plenty of time during the regular session to enact the maneuver shifting the funding.
Link (Fischer)
February 10, 2010 – Douglas Dispatch: Sales tax question finally going to state’s voters
State lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to asking voters to help balance the state budget for the next three years with a temporary tax hike.
The 34-25 vote in the House sends the issue to the May 18 ballot as it already was approved by the Senate. It does not require the signature of Gov. Jan Brewer. The ultimate decision will be up to voters.
Brewer had hoped to get lawmakers to enact the tax hike themselves so it would take effect March 1 to help fix the $1.4 billion deficit this year. But the governor said she was pleased legislators were at least willing to send the issue to the ballot.
“At long last, the voters get a voice,’’ Brewer said in a prepared statement. The governor said the revenues — more than $950 million the first year alone — will reduce the need to cut spending beyond what already has been enacted.
Link (Fischer)
February 10, 2010 – Verde Independent: Governor gives state of the state in Cottonwood (with video)
…Brewer said that she will be a “truth teller.” “There are no grays, only black and white. We must choose to either serve others or serve yourself.”
“No other governor has cut as much as I have.”
Brewer gave a laundry list of those decisions. “We reduced government spending by over $1 billion. We reduced the state workforce by over 10 percent. We are working to transfer back to the federal government all non-violent criminal aliens now housed in state prisons.
But she warned that this is not the end yet.
“More state jobs are going to be shed and more services are going to be curtailed. The depth of the problem is so severe that we cannot recover by cuts alone. We must raise more revenue.”…
…Brewer said the services that are important to maintain are public safety and education. “We must hold cuts to public safety and education to 2006-levels,” Brewer insisted. Those two accounts demand 60 percent of General Fund revenue.
“Still we have 300,000 more students and mandated Medicare expenses.”
Brewer countered the claim that there is “no temporary tax.” Brewer said approval of the initiative on the May 18 ballot for a three-year 1-percent sales tax increase would include wording “in the constitution with a date certain” when the tax would expire.
“Public safety and education will be set back many years if we fail.”
Link (Hutchinson)
February 5, 2010 – KOLD News 13: AZ High schools could lose millions in vocational funding
Vocational education programs may soon be a thing of the past for Arizona high school students. Due to the budget crisis, Governor Jan Brewer is proposing an $11 million cut to Arizona high schools with Career and Technical |Education (CTE) programs.
What’s worse is–without that $11 million–Arizona would lose an additional $25 million in federal matching funds.
At Santa Rita High School, Chuck Gallagher’s been running the CTE program for 11 years. He’s also the state president for Career and Technical Education. As you might imagine, he fears losing this kind of money would be catastrophic to vocational education in our state. “Industry partners believe in what we’re doing here,” Gallagher says. ”They’re stepping up to the plate, they’re coming in, donating their time…because this is their future workforce. They know how important these programs are.”
Today, 328 Arizona high schools offer Career and Technical Education programs. That represents about 104,000 vocational students statewide.
Link (Lisaius)
February 2, 2010 – Arizona Republic: Governor calls 6th special session to deal with budget
Brewer also wants lawmakers to act on measures that will help mainline cash into this year’s budget, which, more than halfway through the fiscal year, remains $1.5 billion out of kilter. Those actions include:
- Authority to borrow against the state Lottery, to gain $450 million.
- Another sale of state buildings, to raise $300 million.
- The delay of monthly payments to K-12 schools and to universities until the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, freeing up $450 million.
- Authority to collect income taxes from people who work in Arizona, take the standard tax deduction but live out of state, a boost of $22 million.
Even with those moves, whose prospects are mixed, lawmakers will still need to cut programs to make this year’s budget balance, Brewer said in a news release.
Brewer, in a statement, sounded an optimistic note.
“I am very hopeful that members of both political parties will join together with a unified message to our citizens that their government will honestly address this deficit with these important first steps,” she said.
The extra money would be directed to education, health, welfare and public-safety programs, although there is no guarantee that lawmakers would be barred from cutting other funding from those programs.
Link (Pitzl)
February 1, 2010 – Arizona Republic: New cuts imperil school programs
From career training to substance abuse, nearly a dozen programs in Arizona schools are operating without state funding this winter, another casualty of the state’s budget crisis.
Gov. Jan Brewer ordered that payments to the programs, covering January, February and March, be suspended until the start of the fourth quarter of the state’s fiscal year, in April. That was troubling, school officials said.
But their worries intensified when the governor proposed the funding be terminated retroactive to Jan. 1. That would save the state about $27 million for the remainder of this school year as the state tries to erase a $1.4 billion deficit. For next year, with a projected $3.2 billion deficit, the savings would be $46.3 million.
Brewer’s proposal, unveiled two weeks ago, is just starting to percolate through the legislative budget process. It’s one of numerous painful decisions that her staff said she had to make in order to produce a balanced budget. But it drew opposition from a key lawmaker.
Rep. Rich Crandall, chairman of the House Education Committee, said retroactively ending a program could add up to big financial problems, especially in smaller school districts that have fewer financial resources.
“These are classes that started weeks ago that are actually in progress now,” Crandall, R-Mesa, said as lawmakers reviewed the governor’s budget plan.
For all the problems posed by the state’s cash crunch, Crandall said he’s never encountered a situation where administrators may have to figure out how to pay for salaries and supplies after those costs have been incurred.
Link (Pitzl)
January 30, 2010 – Tucson Citizen: Farewell my GED
“The budget cuts Governor Jan Brewer is proposing are painful, but one will earn us national recognition. Not only will Arizona have one of the highest high school drop-out rates in the nation, if the proposed cuts are approved, GED classes and testing will no longer be offered in this state. Arizona would become the only state in the country without this service.”
Paula Stuht, Vice President of Business Development of the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, adds: “The economic impact of NOT educating the nearly 800,000 Arizonans who do not have a high school diploma is enormous. The elimination of Adult Education will prevent the development and re-training of a prepared workforce that we urgently need to attract and keep existing businesses in Arizona.”
“Without a GED it is nearly impossible to go on to further training or to get a job. 70% of welfare recipients and 65% of the state prison population don’t have high school diplomas. 18% of all high school diplomas issued in Arizona in 2008 were GED diplomas, nearly 1/5 of Arizona’s high school graduates.
GED grads earn $5,000 more per year on average, resulting in approximately $70 million additional taxable income in Arizona. Arizona benefits from over $8 million in additional tax revenue from GED graduates which is almost double the return on investment.
If the Governor’s recommendation to totally eliminate its $4.6 million adult education program is ultimately approved, Arizona will sacrifice $11 million of federal funds for adult education that are directly based on the state’s commitment to maintain its funding level.”
January 29, 2010 – East Valley Living: Stimulus Funds Awarded to School Districts for Energy Efficiency Projects
Governor Jan Brewer today announced that 25 Arizona school districts will receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for energy efficiency projects at schools throughout the state. The funding is part of the $55,447,000 awarded to the Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office through the State Energy Program (SEP).
“This investment in our schools can have a significant, long-term impact by allowing more money to be directed at the Arizona classroom rather than on administrative costs,” said Governor Brewer. “Preserving and streamlining the essential functions of state government will be critical to Arizona’s job and budget recovery.”
The following school districts were chosen to receive funds: Altar Valley Elementary (20 miles west of Tucson), Balsz Elementary (Phoenix), Chandler Unified, Chinle Unified (Navajo Nation), Chino Valley Unified, Crane Elementary (Yuma), Dysart Unified (Surprise), Florence Unified, Fort Thomas Unified (San Carlos Apache Reservation), Fountain Hills Unified, Ganado Unified (Navajo Nation), Gilbert Unified, Higley Unified (Gilbert), Isaac Elementary (Phoenix), Marana Unified, Mesa Unified, Pinon Unified (Navajo Nation), Queen Creek Unified, Roosevelt Unified (Phoenix), Sahuarita Unified, Sierra Vista Unified, Tanque Verde Unified (Tucson), Toltec Elementary (Eloy), Tucson Unified and Winslow Unified.
“In these days of shrinking budgets, saving energy wherever possible makes great economic sense,” said Jim Arwood, Director of the State Energy Office. “Lowering utility bills at schools by more than $5.6 million a year means a great deal to Arizona taxpayers.”
January 24, 2010 – Arizona Republic: Planned cuts to Arizona schools stir fears
Child and education advocates are worried about Gov. Jan Brewer’s new round of proposed cuts to Arizona’s education budget, including axing state financial support for all-day kindergarten.
They also fear that cutting education spending will risk the state’s right to keep federal-stimulus money it received as part of last year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“Parents and voters need to really think about what this means and what their priorities are and what trade-offs they want to make,” said Dana Wolfe Naimark, CEO of the Children’s Action Alliance. “Education has already been hit, but it will be hit now like nothing we’ve seen.”
“The impact of these cuts on children, families, and Arizona jobs is truly stunning,” Naimark said in a statement. “Although in her State of the State address, the governor proudly proclaimed that she wants the world to know that Arizona is open for business, these proposals announce just the opposite. With the weakening of K-12 and early education, the dismantling of much of our health-care system, and the elimination of most basic and emergency services, there will be no business as usual in our state for years to come.”
A spokesman for the Governor’s Office didn’t return calls seeking comment about the education budget.
…Last year’s $144 million cut to soft capital funds that pay for textbooks, desks and buses for K-12 schools means Arizona’s school funding has dropped to 2006 spending levels, said John Wright, president of the Arizona Education Association.
If the state cuts any more money from the schools’ budget this fiscal year, Arizona is in jeopardy of violating a “maintenance of effort” requirement for obtaining and retaining federal-stimulus funds, he said.
Link (Gersema & Fehr-Snyder)
January 22, 2010 – Arizona Daily Wildcat: State finally pays schools
More than 20 days overdue, the state of Arizona has fulfilled its monthly financial obligation to all three public universities, education officials said Thursday.
The $75 million owed to the schools since December was dispersed by the Arizona treasury at the end of the business day Wednesday, and January’s payment is expected within a few days, said Katie Paquet, associate executive director of public affairs and external relations for the Arizona Board of Regents.
The UA relied upon an unspecified amount of emergency reserves to maintain operations during the delay, which was the third in the last year. Cruz said this delay, announced in December, came as a surprise because previous ones were part of scheduled negotiations between Governor Jan Brewer and the Arizona Board of Regents…
…A January 2010 Moody’s Investors Service report revealed that Arizona’s university credit scores have not yet been penalized.
“Higher education is increasingly being perceived as a private benefit rather than a public good,” said Jenny Lee, UA College of Education professor and director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education.
Lee said the state’s payment delays could have a domino effect on colleges and departments and how programs are funded in the long term. “Our current state leadership does not prioritize higher education,” Lee wrote in an e-mail Thursday. “They are short-sighted in seeing the role of colleges and universities in rebuilding the state economy.”
Link (Mori)
January 17, 2010 – Arizona Republic: Brewer delivers a dose of cold fiscal reality (Editorial)
Arizonans got a glass of cold water in the face Friday. Gov. Jan Brewer released her budget, and it was a shocking splash of fiscal reality.
The cuts were brutal, from booting 310,500 people out of AHCCCS, Arizona’s Medicaid agency, to eliminating the Department of Juvenile Corrections (counties would get the offenders). Brewer’s budget had an excruciating level of financial pain.
And that wasn’t enough. It included more debt, more spending rollovers.
…But that’s just the start. The state must still solve a $1.4 billion deficit this fiscal year, and it faces a projected shortfall of $3.2 billion in fiscal 2011. Brewer’s budget laid out the cold reality of the type of choices Arizona faces.
The governor calls for cutting state employees’ pay by 5 percent, ending state support for all-day kindergarten, reducing services for the seriously mentally ill, eliminating day-care assistance for 10,000 children of low-income working parents and ending cash assistance for 10,000 families.
Her proposals are the beginning of the debate, in which we hope for a full consideration of the pitfalls and alternatives. Take health care. Brewer would eliminate KidsCare, which provides coverage for 47,000. She wants a ballot measure to ask Arizonans to limit the expansion of AHCCCS coverage, which they approved a decade ago in Prop. 204. That’s where the 310,500, more than 4 percent of all Arizonans, would lose coverage.
For every dollar we saved, however, we would lose $2 in federal funding – money that supports jobs in the state. And uninsured patients end up at the emergency room, sticking hospitals with unreimbursed costs that are eventually passed on to the rest of us.
January 10, 2010 – Latino Perspectives Magazine : AZ Fiscal Woes: Whodunit?
(Quoting blog entry, dated Nov. 25) “We know that very difficult budget cuts are necessary, yet we still contend that they need to be attached to a comprehensive budget plan that addresses revenue for the state’s future,” said Senate Democratic Leader Jorge Luis Garcia. “Given the incredible amount of pain these cuts cause to children and families, we are appalled to hear how gleeful the Governor was in announcing them.”
Monday, Governor Brewer said, “Since I’ve become governor, we’ve cut over $1 billion out of the state budget. So, we are going to have a great Thanksgiving.” Brewer goes on to say, “It’s a good day. It’s a good beginning to righting the ship here in Arizona.”
Link (Staff)
November 24, 2009 - Capitol Media Services: Governor, Lawmakers Slash $300 Million From Budget
..State lawmakers agreed Monday to immediately cut $300 million in state spending, half of that from education.
Within hours, Gov. Jan Brewer signed the package. But Brewer acknowledged that the cuts, along with another $160 million in savings through other maneuvers like letting state agencies hike their fees, only make a small dent in the $2 billion deficit.
She plans to meet with GOP leaders next week to begin planning another special session, this one before Christmas.
Brewer acknowledged that the cuts — especially the money being taken from education — are essentially equivalent to what she vetoed earlier this year. At that time, the governor said $277 million taken from state aid to education was unacceptable.
The new cuts to K-12 funding are just $144 million. But Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe, pointed out the school year — the time district officials have to pare their spending plans — is nearly half over.
“Reality sets in,” Brewer said when asked about her decision to sign these cuts.
November 23, 2009 - Arizona Capitol Times: Brewer Hails Passage of Cuts, Says It’s a Good Day
Gov. Jan Brewer, flanked by Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams, signed the special session bills just hours after they passed the House.
She said it was “a good day” and noted that the bills will eliminate about $542 million from the deficit, but said those cuts are only the first step in solving the budget crisis. Brewer will meet with legislative leadership on Monday to discuss the parameters of another special session that she hopes to have before Christmas so lawmakers can make additional cuts and find a way to bring in more revenue to the state.
“This is just the beginning. There’s going to be a lot of tough decisions that are going to have to be made. And I think that collectively, between the Legislature and myself, we will come to that solution,” Brewer said at a press conference after the bill signing ceremony. The bottom line is that we know … that we have no other alternative as to go in and make serious cuts and find another avenue of revenue.”
Link (Duda)
November 11, 2009 - Arizona Daily Sun: Report: Budget Disaster Looms
The study released Wednesday by the Pew Center on the States found many of the same conditions in Arizona that led to California coming close to financial collapse…and while the study paints California as being in the worst financial condition of any state in the nation, evidence would suggest that dubious distinction really belongs to Arizona: Its deficit for the current fiscal year is now in the $2 billion range, against projected revenues of only about $6.4 billion.
And the real structural deficit — the difference between ongoing revenues and ongoing expenses — is actually $3.7 billion.
Lawmakers essentially have papered over the problem with one-time fixes and accounting maneuvers, ranging from delaying payments to mortgaging state buildings, to make the gap appear smaller.
That, according to the report, is one of the reasons for the problem Arizona finds itself in.
“Early on, as the economy grew bleaker and state revenue sank, Arizona’s lawmakers reacted slowly, looking to solutions they had used to deal with other, less serious, recessions,” the study says. That included draining the “rainy day fund” and postponing payments due to schools.
STRUCTURAL DEFICIT GROWING
Gov. Jan Brewer, who took over as the state’s chief executive in January, agreed that what is going on now was a long time in coming.
“We have, and have had, a structural deficit building in our state for the last six, seven years,” she said. “And we need to address that issue.”
A special legislative session is set to begin Tuesday. But lawmakers are prepared to deal with less than $500 million of the current shortfall.
The report says the ability of Arizona to have the money it needs was hobbled by cuts in state income tax rates in the 1990s, pushed through the Republican-controlled Legislature by Republican Gov. Fife Symington. Overall, personal income tax rates were cut by about 40 percent.
But Brewer, who was a legislator at the time — and voted for the cuts — disagreed with the study’s conclusion.
“Well, I think at the time they were probably not a mistake,” she said.
“I believe that we need to cut spending, we need to reduce taxes,” the governor continued. “I think that’s good, sound economic strategy.”
And even with the current fiscal hole, Brewer already is proposing future tax cuts, mostly aimed at businesses, when the economy recovers.
Link (Fischer)
November 6, 2009 – Arizona Capitol Times: Special Session No. 4 will Target Schools, DES Funding
Republican legislative leaders have reached a deal with Gov. Jan Brewer to erase a portion of the estimated $2 billion budget deficit in a special session later this month, including about $300 million in spending cuts.
The plan, if carried out, would eliminate a fraction of the overall deficit, and a $1.4 billion shortfall would remain…
…The deal, which leaders have presented to rank-and-file lawmakers to gauge support, includes $140 million in cuts to both K-12 education and the Department of Economic Security. In September, Brewer vetoed more than $450 million in cuts to those two agencies after lawmakers failed to approve a special election to temporarily raise the state sales tax.
Additionally, $160 million in potential general fund expenditures would be averted by making statutory changes that allow several state agencies, including the Department of Revenue, to access other funding sources. Those changes were included in the budget presented to Brewer in August, but she vetoed them because the legislation also included the repeal of a $250 million property tax…
…“It doesn’t mean we won’t be coming back before January 1 to do some more (cuts),” (House Majority Whip, Republican Andrew) Tobin said. “Everyone agrees more cuts are coming.”
Link (Small)
October 26, 2009 – Governor Brewer Press Release Announcing the Completion of Phase I Stimulus Funding to Universities and Community Colleges.
“Although the Recovery Act funds for education stabilization do not resolve the state’s budget deficit, they will help to mitigate the funding crisis the state’s educational institutions find themselves in during this very difficult economic crisis,” said Governor Brewer. “Protecting education opportunities and advancement is absolutely critical to attracting new jobs and business opportunities to our great state.”
September 4, 2009 – Letter to Secretary of State Ken Bennett, explaining line-item veto of HB2006.
“…education is one of my top priorities and I believe a strong educational system is essential to our state’s economic development. Therefore, I have used my line-item veto authority with the intent to restore education funding, address General Fund cash flow concerns, and ensure the appropriate application of federal stimulus dollars. However, I have no mechanism by which to achieve an education funding level that is adequate and preserves the spending required by ARRA, but that is reasonable and responsible. As a result, education funding is higher than the state can sustain given current available revenues.”
“…I want to reaffirm that I believe reductions in spending on education and DES are necessary. Indeed, I had agreed to cuts in both areas and I remain open to further discussions. However, I have been clear that this agreement was contingent upon the opportunity to buffer some of the decreases. I still believe a referral to the voters of a temporary tax increase to mitigate reductions in education and services for our vulnerable populations is critical. When the federal stimulus monies expire, an infusion of additional revenues will be even more essential to preserve adequate funding for services that our vital to our economic prosperity.”
July 23, 2009 – Jan Brewer Horizon Interview with Ted Simons
Ted Simons:
…The leaders, house and senate leaders, in the past, will tell anyone who wants to listen that they see the increase in the sales tax as a jobs killer. Your response.
Jan Brewer:
It’s interesting, nobody likes taxes. Jan Brewer doesn’t either. But the fact of the matter is we cannot come in and decimate our state and services we provide. Certainly, education is very, very important. And I believe that we’ve got economists and people in the financial world that can speak on both sides of that. But I think it’s an absolute necessity at this point in time. Not to eat the seed corn of our future and to not of course lose our stimulus dollars. The federal government has a lot of mandates on the state and if we don’t come to a certain level, we lose our federal dollars too. That would be another blow on top of it. On education and healthcare services…
…Ted Simons:
You mentioned you wanted to see the state more competitive, to give a break to businesses already here and these things and yet the critics say any kind of tax increase, the one-cent increase, temporary as it may be, is going to hurt business to the point of a chilling effect on economic growth. Is that a valid argument and how far does that argument go in terms of you got to help business, you’ve got a lot of people in need out there?
Jan Brewer:
I think everybody that lives in Arizona and loves this great state of ours; they want what’s best for Arizona on the whole. And if we start and don’t address this crisis in a realistic manner and everybody’s going to have to share a little bit of that pain, but if we go in and start slashing and devastating certain things that we need to have a good fruitful future, that’s not good for business either. So we’re going to have to supplement, temporarily, in order to turn the whole situation around. You know, I’ve spoken to a lot of the business community. You know, again, spoke to the legislature early on and gave a five-point plan hoping they would grab that and work in that direction. And I think it’s imperative that when you’re faced with this catastrophe and — other states, but we need to look at the big picture of budget reform. I mean, in the good days, Ted, a few years ago, they — they spent all the rainy day fund. And it wasn’t even raining. When times are good, we spend and spend and now here we are in this crisis so we need — the legislature and I need to look forward for the next future, the next three or four years. And do budget reform. Do tax reform. Address the issue of proposition 105 and do spending cuts and then do a temporary sales tax or whatever we come to agreement on to get that revenue in there. And along with the stimulus dollars and with good budgeting we can turn our state around and we can do it right. We can do it proper. And that boosts everybody in the state of Arizona and it doesn’t kill our future in regards to our children.
Link (audio & transcript, Simons PBS)
June 16, 2009 – Arizona Republic: Brewer to file suit to force Legislature to release bills
“…GOP legislative leaders would prefer to hold off on submitting their plan to Brewer, knowing they’re in a stronger position with a proposal in hand that was already cleared the House and Senate. Gubernatorial staffers suspect that Burns and Adams would like to wait until the end of the month before submitting their budget to the governor, knowing that would put her in an untenable position: Sign a plan she doesn’t like or shut down state government. … Hoping to avoid that, Brewer gave Burns and Adams until 5pm Monday to send her their proposal. They declined…(assuring Brewer) that the bills will be presented to her before the legislative session ends.”
Link (Benson, Pitzl)
June 15, 2009 – Arizona Daily Star: Gov. Brewer: Senate president holding state hostage
“Gov. Jan Brewer threatened today to sue Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams if they do not send her a package of GOP-approved budget bills by the end of the day – bills she says she probably won’t sign. Brewer said the legal action was in response to Burns walking out on negotiations Sunday evening. Brewer accused her fellow Republican during a press conference of holding “the entire state hostage”…
“…I will not decimate education nor will I ever let state government fail the most vulnerable of our society, children and the elderly,” she said during a press conference.”
Link (Scarpinato)
June 15, 2009 – Arizona Republic: Brewer demands Legislature send budget to her
“…with just 15 days until the end of the fiscal year and a possible government shutdown, Brewer said she’s prepared to file a special action with the state Supreme Court. She’d like the court to compel the Legislature to send the budget bills to her.”
“Despite the clear constitutional requirements to present me the bills, they have refused,” Brewer told reporters shortly before noon Monday. “I will not allow the president (of the Senate) to hold the entire state hostage by holding all of the budget bills”… “It puts the state of Arizona and the people of Arizona at extreme risk.”
Link (Benson, Pitzl)
June 10, 2009 – Governor’s press release: Governor Brewer Announces Approval of Education Stabilization Funds
“Governor Jan Brewer today announced Arizona’s application for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education. More than $681 million is now available for Arizona under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The remaining one-third ($335.5 million) will be eligible to apply for in the fall following a more detailed application.
“It is excellent news that the federal government has approved my application for education stimulus funding,” stated Governor Brewer. “While these funds obviously do not close the state budget deficit hole of $4 billion, they are an important tool in my mission to protect our K-12, university, and community college systems from crippling budget cuts. I remain very concerned and vigilant that our new FY 2010 state budget meets all of the federal government’s maintenance of effort requirements to receive and utilize these funds. I will not accept a new state budget that threatens the loss of these federal stimulus dollars.”
Link (Gov Brewer press office)
June 10, 2009 – Arizona Daily Sun: Brewer seeks input on budget
“Saying she wanted some public input, Gov. Jan Brewer brought in called educators, groups that deliver health and welfare benefits and state agency chiefs to tell her Tuesday what they don’t like about the $8.2 billion budget just adopted by the Legislature. “It appeared to be a trough-feeding event,” said Senate President Bob Burns, R-Peoria. He said the list of those called to speak at the meeting, which was not publicly announced until 6 p.m. Monday, consisted almost entirely of those are looking for more tax dollars.
“She set up a panel of essentially tax spenders to come in and whine and cry about how the legislative budget is going to cut their budget,” complained Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu. “I can assemble 10,000 tax payers to show up and testify how they think it would be great that we hold the line on taxes.”
Brewer acknowledged the meeting was designed to hear solely from those “stakeholders” who are most affected by a legislative budget that cuts their money. The governor said she wanted to know how they will be able to function — or not — with the money the GOP plan provides.
And Brewer said if Republican lawmakers think taxpayers need a voice, they should send her proposal for a tax hike to the ballot.
“Let the taxpayers decide,” she said.”
Link (Fischer)
June 9, 2009 - Arizona Capitol Times: Brewer Concerned Lawmakers’ Budget Could Jeopardize Stimulus Money
Gov. Jan Brewer said the budget package passed by the Legislature may jeopardize federal stimulus money Arizona is receiving for education and health care.
Under the terms of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the state is slated to receive nearly $900 million in stimulus funds for K-12 and higher education, and more than $700 million for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. But state officials are awaiting word from the federal government on whether those funding sources would be threatened by provisions in the legislative budget plan.
Brewer on June 5 said she has not read the bills, but it is her understanding that provisions dealing with university funding could jeopardize the education stimulus money. “I haven’t seen the bill, but we have seen that situation. We have also seen a similar situation in regard to the federal stimulus dollars for AHCCCS. So there’s a lot of issues there that aren’t workable. They’re not possible to do,” she said…
…Virgil Renzulli, a spokesman for Arizona State University President Michael Crow, said the legislative budget also twice rolls over a $100 million payment, which may count against the 2006 spending level as well.
“The university system has taken close to $200 million in cuts already. We’ll take another $40 million, we’re prepared for that. But a $50-million fund sweep is really devastating on top of everything else. Plus, it is not state money, so we question the legality of that,” Renzulli said. “For those cuts, the state could lose almost $900 million in federal stimulus money. We think that would be a mistake.”..
…Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said those two portions of the legislative budget are especially concerning considering the ongoing federal audit the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office is conducting on Arizona.
“It was selected to be one of 16 states to be closely audited by the federal government, regarding its use of federal stimulus funds. We wouldn’t want to invite any challenges to those dollars or jeopardize that $1 billion in education funding,” he said.
Link (Duda)
June 2, 2009 – Arizona Republic: Gov. Brewer unveils her budget plan
“Gov. Jan Brewer upped the ante Monday in Arizona’s high-stakes budget battle, releasing a proposal that would increase taxes, cut spending, sell state assets and lean on the federal government for assistance in closing a shortfall that her office now estimates at $4 billion.” …
“…While legislators dug in their heels, Brewer did likewise. In a seven-page letter that accompanied her proposal, Brewer declared herself “more steadfast” than she was in early March when she first called for budget reform, including a tax increase.
“I will not sign a budget that relies primarily on debt and federal economic-stimulus dollars,” Brewer wrote. “I will not sign a budget that incorporates unrealistic spending cuts, excessive gimmicks or phony revenue projections. I will not sign a budget that, in the interest of political expediency, dims Arizona’s future.” …
“..She also would spare the state’s university system from more severe cuts. Brewer’s plan calls for a lump-sum reduction of $43 million to the universities but doesn’t include tens of millions in additional higher-education fund sweeps proposed by GOP legislative leaders.
“We thank the governor for protecting the university system in her proposal,” Arizona Board of Regents President Fred Boice said in a statement. “We strongly urge all Arizonans, and our legislators, to support Governor Brewer’s budget proposal, which will get our state back on the path toward economic security and prosperity.”
Link (Benson)
June 2, 2009 – KYMA News Channel 11: Yuma County reviews governor’s budget plan
“Arizona Governor Jan Brewer gave out her state budget proposal Monday. Yuma County officials are hard at work figuring out what it would mean to our communities…While local officials crunch the numbers on the governor’s plan, they’re very concerned about the senate’s.
“…Another proposed shift would require the county’s vehicle license tax to pay for k-12 education. Officials say the budget impact will most likely not be felt until the following fiscal year. “It’s a drain on our local resources for the upcoming year. It’s going to put us in a bad position to start following fiscal year. That is when we would have to start talking about what we are going to cut and where we are going to cut,” Pickels said.
Yuma Mayor, Larry Nelson, says the senate’s proposal does not solve the budget crisis. It just passes on the burden.
“They tried to sweep our impact fees and have us give them, for instance, to the schools. Well the city’s not responsible for the schools, the state’s responsible for the schools,” Nelson said.
Link (no author listed)
July 1, 2009 – Letter to Rep. Kirk Adams explaining line item veto for HB2643
“I have stated throughout my time in office that I am unwilling to agree to a K-12 Budget that does not adequately meet the needs of our public education system. While the extreme fiscal condition of our state makes some reductions necessary, the cuts enacted by the legislature in Senate Bill 1188 are significantly greater than those advanced in my budget…Furthermore, the federal stimulus funds will be woefully inadequate to offset the impacts of these reductions for FY 2010, creating the specter of even larger unmitigated cuts for FY 2011 and beyond.”
July 1, 2009 - Letter to Rep. Kirk Adams explaining reason for veto of HB2644.
“Unfortunately, HB2644, along with the other FY 2010 budget bills adopted by the legislature, does not balance the state budget. We have a duty to adopt a budget that honestly and realistically addresses Arizona’s growing fiscal crisis in a fashion that does not devastate the foundation of our most critical state government functions and services. These budget bills would prevent the proper function of many critical components of state government, as well as undermine our efforts to develop and encourage a prosperous future.”
May 29, 2009 - Arizona Business.com: Brewer Finally Applies for Fed Stimulus Money
After weeks of being prodded, Gov. Jan Brewer formally applied May 21 for Arizona’s more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money.
About $557 million of the first money to be received will go toward education funding, Brewer’s office announced, with $250 million to be spent on K-12 education, $154 going to universities and $29 million to community colleges. All should received the money to be applied to current fiscal-year budgets, she said.
Another $275 million will go to education spending when it is received in the fall. Arizona will also receive $185 million in general stimulus money that can be spent over the next three years…but Brewer didn’t say how it would be spent.
Link (no author listed)
May 29, 2009 – Verde News: Lawmakers OK on plan to divert tax dollars for private, parochial schools
“State lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to legislation to create yet another program to divert tax dollars to help some students pay the costs of going to private and parochial schools.”…
“…At the insistence of Gov. Jan Brewer, who supports the plan, backers of the plan limited the total credits that could be claimed to $5 million a year, the same amount the state was providing in vouchers.”
“But that is on top of two existing programs that already provide more than $60 million a year in tax credits. And sponsors said they see this new program as just another step to divert dollars that otherwise would wind up in the state treasury to help students opt out of public schools.”
Link (Fischer)
May 21, 2009 – Arizona Daily Star: Brewer: Education a priority
“Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer…promised to protect some basic government services, including health care and education, in an address to the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.”
“…She said that a (sustainable budget) would take a “world-class education system from pre-K to graduate school. To date, I have held the line on massive cuts to our K-12 education system. And I intend to use my exclusive authority as governor to maximize the use of federal stimulus funds to best help maintain education funding.”
Link (Sorenson)
May 20, 2009 – ABC15.com: Gov. Brewer pushes for private school tax credits
“Gov. Jan Brewer is calling Arizona legislators into special session so they can consider creating new state income tax credits to replace private school vouchers recently ruled unconstitutional.
Brewer issued the call Wednesday evening, setting the start of the special session for 1 p.m. Thursday.
The Republican governor, in a statement announcing the special session, said she was “heartbroken” by the Arizona Supreme Court’s March ruling that voucher programs for approximately 400 foster and disabled students violate the Arizona Constitution’s ban on state funding for private or religious education.
“Legislative leaders and I have developed a proposal that will meet the legal requirements of the Arizona Constitution, does not add additional costs to the state budget and allows these parents to utilize the best educational programs for their disabled and foster children,” Brewer said.”
Link (AP)
May 15, 2009 – Phoenix Business Journal: Arizona Gov. Brewer says budget fix must include more revenue, not just cuts
“…That idea faces opposition from conservative Republicans. But Brewer said Thursday that spending cuts and using federal stimulus money to close the state’s $3 billion fiscal 2010 deficit will not get her signature.
“Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer drew a line in the sand Thursday, saying she would veto a state budget that further guts education and university spending and does not include $1 billion in new revenue.”
Link (Sunnucks)
May 14, 2009 - Governor Brewer: general press release following further FY09 budget cuts
“I have now signed both pieces of legislation. This latest update to the FY ’09 budget was not a simple exercise, as state revenues have continued to decline and very few weeks remain before the beginning of the new fiscal year. But let me repeat – spending reductions and federal stimulus dollars alone will not come close to fixing the FY ’10 budget or future budget deficits.
New revenues of roughly $1 billion will be necessary, as federal stimulus funding will only cover approximately $1 billion of the FY ’10 deficit. And I will not approve an FY ’10 budget that does not take into account FY ’11 needs and requirements, just as I was unwilling to overutilize federal stimulus funding to balance FY ’09 and leave our education system exposed to massive reductions in FY ’10.
May 13, 2009 – Tucson Citizen: Legislature OKs Budget Plan that Delays Education Spending
The Arizona Legislature has approved a plan to close the current state budget’s growing shortfall by delaying some spending and using federal stimulus money. It also moves to trim the next budget’s shortfall by grabbing some school district money.
House and Senate votes Wednesday nearly tracked partisan lines as the chambers approved the Republican plan negotiated with Gov. Jan Brewer to close the current budget’s projected $650 million shortfall. Brewer, a Republican, is expected to sign the two-bill package into law.
“If these bills are passed, they will receive the governor’s support,” Eileen Klein, Brewer’s budget director, told a legislative committee before the House and Senate votes…
…The plan would use $250 million of federal stimulus money to replace state dollars for K-12 schools. It would postpone $100 million of university funding and $300 million in K-12 school funding into the next fiscal year.
State repayment of the postponed K-12 funding – nearly all of the payment scheduled for Friday – would then be reduced several months from now by amounts lawmakers say districts have saved above state limits…
…Most Democrats protested the grab, saying it could force school districts to raise local property taxes to recoup money grabbed by the state.
“This is a backdoor tax increase” said Sen. Rebecca Rios, D-Apache Junction.
Amounts to be taken from districts have yet to be determined but estimates range up to $300 million.
Link (Associated Press)
May 4, 2009 - State Press.com: Regents endorse governor’s economic-recovery package
The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously on Friday to endorse Gov. Jan Brewer’s five-point plan for Arizona’s economic recovery. One day earlier, Brewer urged regents to reform the university system’s business model.
“I firmly believe our economic future is incumbent upon your success,” Brewer told the regents, according to a statement released Thursday. “These incredible challenges we face today should be viewed as an opportunity to make the big changes we need for the future.”
Brewer left specifics out of her call to action but said she wants to see a new business plan by this fall that is accountable, predictable and affordable to students, parents and taxpayers.
While 82 percent of Arizona’s incoming federal stimulus dollars will go toward K-12 and higher education, Brewer warned that the money will only help — not solve — the university system’s budget problems.
“I bring to you today my personal commitment as your governor to utilize and apply federal stimulus dollars … in a way that can best mitigate the impacts of today’s proposals to dramatically increase tuition,” she said. “But with that commitment, I require your commitment to the development of a long-term plan to reform your business model.”
Link (Sneed)
May 1, 2009 – Arizona Daily Star: Arizonans still getting to know their surprise governor, 100 days in
“The 2009 budget fix that Jan Brewer signed into law 10 days after taking office made $133 million in cuts to K-12 education — about a 2 percent cut to state aid for schools.
Brewer has said there will be more cuts to balance the 2010 budget, but she wants to minimize them. She also has been protective of state funding for popular all-day kindergarten programs. And while some legislative leaders fretted about a requirement in the federal stimulus package to backfill cuts to universities, Brewer welcomed it.
“We cannot afford to eat the seed corn of our future,” Brewer said. “I don’t want to see us go in and decimate education. They have taken some big hits, and they will take more hits. . . . But we have to be very, very cautious.”
Link (Scarpinato)
March 18, 2009 – KNAU: Governor Brewer warns of more education cuts
“Lawmakers approved – and Brewer signed – legislation to cut $133 million this year from K-12 education and $150 million from higher ed. But the state faces a potential $3 billion deficit for next year. Brewer has proposed fixing that with further cuts, federal stimulus dollars and a temporary tax increase, traveling around the state pitching her plan. A group of business leaders listened to her latest talk but asked for assurance that there would be no futher cuts, especially to universities, because that’s where they get their qualified employees. Brewer refused.
“Assurance is one thing. And doing what is necessary is another thing. Unfortunately, we probably are going to see some more reductions in K thru 12 and higher education in the state of Arizona.”
Link (Fischer)
March 4, 2009 – Governor Brewer speech: Building a Better Arizona
“Our structural budget reforms should also be designed to restrict and limit routine raids on fee-based funds also called “Fund Sweeps”. Occasionally, some sweeps may be justified and perfectly legal, but when users are required to pay fees for required government services they should have the confidence to know that if they have paid the fee they will receive the service. I have heard of fund sweeps described as a homeowner who writes a check for the utility bill only to have the government intercept the check in the mail before it reaches the power company. Guess what happens, the power gets shut off. This cannot continue. That tool must be restricted just as we restrict the use of rainy day funds.
And now my fourth proposal: reform and modernize our state tax structure. Study after study has been conducted only to sit on a bookshelf and collect dust. Our tax structure must not hold back job creation and capital formation…Therefore, I call for a tax reduction that will begin in 2012, and we need to progressively build a more friendly tax code that attracts investment capital and helps create high wage, sustainable jobs. Give me a tax cut that equips us with the tools to build a better Arizona…
… we must be willing to consider the passage of a temporary tax increase - approved by you and signed by me - or approved by the voters at a special election, of roughly $1 billion dollars per year.
This temporary increase should be dedicated to preserving our education systems, our critical public safety commitments, and our essential public health services necessary for the survival of our state’s most at-risk citizens…
We cannot balance this budget on cuts alone, nor on taxes alone, nor on Federal Stimulus dollars alone. We cannot place all of the burden on our children and their schools. We cannot place all of the burden on the parents that need day care so they can go to work and stay off welfare. We cannot leave the sick on the streets alone to fend for themselves only to overload our hospitals and our jails. We cannot be penny wise and pound-foolish….
…To my friends and respected colleagues on the right I will not accept a budget that eats the seed corn that must be sown in the fields of our future. We all work hard for our children, and for their children. They must be safe in their neighborhoods and communities, and we cannot settle for an education system that merely prepares them to get a job. We must ensure that our education system prepares them to excel ; in work, in business, in service to their community, and to our country. Let me make this point abundantly clear -I will not sign a budget that relies primarily on debt and federal stimulus dollars, and I will not sign a budget that relies primarily on unrealistic spending cuts…”
Feb 18, 2009 - KNAU Arizona Public Radio: Governor Brewer talks budget, education in Flagstaff, (Interview with Gillian Ferris Kohl)
Question (Gillian Ferris Kohl): “…a few weeks ago Republican legislative leaders laid out some budget options for next fiscal year, and they could include a $900 million cut to state aid and public schools and up to a $500 million cut to universities. Do you feel that puts too much of the deficit solution on cutting education?”
Response (Gov. Brewer): “Well, first and foremost let me tell you that we are in the biggest crisis that Arizona has ever seen in my lifetime and it is very, very critical. So, our options out there on dealing with the general budget are very narrow. I just currently addressed the 2009 budget by making $1.6 billion cuts into that based on some (hopefully) stimulus dollars that we might receive from the federal government – we aren’t even sure of that – now we are going in to the 2010 budget looking at a three point plus budget deficit. Now we made some very severe cuts in the 2009 budget which made everyone feel pain. But as our revenues drop, the services that we are providing are going to have to drop too because it just…it doesn’t match – I mean you cannot spend more than you make. And the bottom line is that if we don’t come up with a solution there are going to be more dreadful cuts.”
Question (Kohl): “Do you think that there is a correlation between funding and success in school, because Arizona consistently ranks about 49th in the nation as far as spending per student?”
Response (Brewer): “I believe that everybody supports education. I believe everybody supports higher education – that it is important – certainly the educators support education – so, and I think that is something that government and our constitution says that we provide to people, and people need to be able to take advantage of that but the bottom line is that we need the education community, the citizens of the state of Arizona, the business community to come together – and I’ve always said that all options are on the table. We need to collectively, together, solve the crisis that we’re in and education is going to be a big part of that.”
Link (Ferris Kohl)
Feb 10, 2009 - East Valley Tribune: Brewer noncommittal on school vouchers
“…Brewer boasted of having voted for the first “choice” programs when she was a legislator in 1994. That included allowing private companies to run charter schools which get state funding as well as permitting “open enrollment,” allowing students to go to any public school which has the space.
“Supporting school choice is not contradictory to supporting our public schools,” Brewer said. “I support the education of our children no matter where the location or the context.”
Link (Fischer)
February 7, 2009 – Arizona Republic: Gov Brewer blames Napolitano for budget crisis
“…Brewer was noncommittal on the future of certain state programs as Arizona tries to close a shortfall as large as $3 billion for fiscal 2010.
Tax increases remain a possibility, she said. But so, too, does the permanent elimination of a property tax that has been suspended for the past few years but is slated to return soon.
Brewer called all-day kindergarten “a very popular program” but said she has not decided whether the state will continue to fund it…”
Link (Benson)
February 2, 2009 – ABC 15.com: AZ’s newest budget cuts trim millions from K-12 education
“Gov. Jan Brewer gave final approval to budget plan Saturday. It includes roughly $580 million in spending cuts, removes another $580 million from several special funds, and factors in $500 million in anticipated federal stimulus money coming to Arizona. … Of the most notable reductions, more that $142 million was pulled from state universities and $133 million from K-12 education.”
Link (Biscobing)
Jan 30, 2009 – East Valley Tribune: Brewer signs budget with $580 million in cuts
“Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Saturday to fix the current budget, paving the way for lawmakers to start dealing with an even bigger deficit expected next year.
Gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman said Brewer, who has been governor for less than two weeks, recognizes the hardship that the $580 million in spending cuts will create. Hardest hit is education, with a $142 million hit to the university system, $9 million taken from community colleges and $133 million less in state aid to public schools.
“The governor is very concerned about the effect and impact of this budget,” Senseman said. He said, though, the cuts had to be made because of the $1.6 billion deficit in the $9.9 billion spending plan, a deficit Senseman said Brewer inherited from former Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Link (Fischer)
Jan 21, 2009 - Governor Brewer’s Inaugural Address
“My fellow Arizonans, it is important to remember that we cannot budget our way to prosperity, and still less, we will not attain prosperity by taxing our way there either. Our first calling at this
capitol is to generate capital — to call forth the creativity, determination and entrepreneurial spirit that made these United States the most prosperous great power in the history of the world.
I’m therefore pleased to report that the legislative leadership, my transition team and I are not sitting idle while the new government in Washington plans another trillion dollars in deficit spending. No, we are planning a massive stimulus package of our own, to make Arizona the most economically
vibrant place in the world. And just like the clever folks in Washington, we have a catchy name for it: It’s called freedom.”
Free to choose the schools their children will attend, and to find a safe and sound learning environment in every public institution…Free to pursue an authentic higher education in our great research universities and our community colleges, at a cost that will not leave them under a crushing debt.”
Link
up to date? Were funds cut too? What about the legislation signed in Sept cutting the legs out from teachers trying to earn a living wage? Your last entry is June 16.
Hi Sharon,
You are correct that this particular page hasn’t been updated. We are a group of volunteers, and have to focus our limited time on what is read most. This page was created, then our efforts were diverted to other areas. We have been highlighting the state of public education in Arizona in a different area, however. And it is up-to-date. Please visit: http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/category/recent-news/
If you would like to join us, in any way that works for your schedule, please email us at info@arizonaeducationnetwork.com.
~Linda