Presidents of DM-50, Ft. Huachuca-50 & Fighter County Partnership Pen Letter to Gov. Brewer about Education Cuts
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Glen Kerslake of DM-50, Lawrence Portouw of Ft. Huachuca-50 and Steve Yamamori of Fighter County Partnership write a letter to Governor Jan Brewer highlighting the possible ramifications to the military installations in Arizona if the education cuts the legislature is proposing pass.
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DM-50 letter to Gov. Brewer May 2009
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Dear Governor Brewer:
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We are writing to strongly encourage you to resist calls for further cuts to education
spending as you continue to make necessary budget decisions. From the perspective of
the most recent round of the Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure
(BRAC) process in 2005, further cuts in education endanger the $10B economic engine
we seek to preserve and grow; namely, our military installations.
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Quality of education for family members continues to be a significant measure in the
Pentagon’s calculus of the value of a military installation. For example, during the last
BRAC round the Sierra Vista community put as much effort into preventing the
Pentagon BRAC commission from misrepresenting Fort Huachuca with the gross state
per-capita education spending statistic as it did in educating them about the true nature
of water in Southeastern Arizona. There’s no room for erosion (in either).
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The Pentagon will make decisions to restructure basing of forces as US involvement in
the conflict in the Middle East winds down, as it fields new aircraft and major defense
budget changes are announced. Education is also a major factor in attracting the talent
needed by the many high-tech contracting firms that support Arizona’s military
installations. Rest assured that education will be one of the key factors in determining
the continued viability of Arizona’s military installations. Holding the line on education
spending is an investment in Arizona’s and America’s future.
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The challenges of the current budgetary process are daunting, but they should not
cause us to make decisions that will have serious and unintended consequences. We
strongly urge you to resist attempts to further cut funding for education in Arizona
communities.
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Sincerely,
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Lawrence J. Portouw………………….Glen Kerslake.…………………Steve Yamamori
President,………………………………….President,……………………….Executive Director/CEO,
Fort Huachuca 50………………………DM- 50…………………………..Fighter Country
Partnership
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[...] The Governor’s budget director, John Arnold, confirmed that economists view Proposition 100 as job neutral (any jobs lost by an increase in the sales tax would be equivalent to jobs lost as a result of the cuts made if the measure fails). Education is inextricably linked to a healthy Arizona economy. In order to attract businesses to Arizona, the state must provide a strong public education system. If these drastic cuts are made, companies may not only fail to relocate to Arizona–they may leave. They may also imperil Arizona’s military bases. Many civilian jobs already remain unfilled at bases due to the lack of qualified workers. In addition, military families may choose to avoid a state with diminished funding for education. See Presidents of DM-50, Ft. Huachuca-50 & Fighter County Partnership Pen Letter to Gov. Brewer abou…. [...]
[...] . The entire article can be found here. . Related AEN Articles: Presidents of DM-50, Ft. Huachuca-50 & Fighter County Partnership Pen Letter to Gov. Brewer abou… [...]