AEN Sponsored Community-Wide Proposition 100 Forum

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On Thursday, April 22, the Arizona Education Network sponsored a community-wide forum on Proposition 100 where seven distinguished panelists from vital sectors in Pima County spoke of the fiscal, human and educational impact of Proposition 100 at the community level in Southern Arizona.
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Panelists included: Pima County Administrator, Chuck Huckelberry, Ron Shoopman, president of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Dr. Rainer W. G. Gruessner, chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona, Stephen MacCarthy, vice president of External Relations at the University of Arizona, Dr. Nic Clement, Flowing Wells superintendent and co-chair of the Tucson School Superintendents’ Collaborative, Sue Krahe, director of Our Family Services, and Penelope Jacks, Southern Arizona Director of Children’s Action Alliance.
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Below are videos of each panelist’s comments/presentations, in addition to brief summaries and notable quotes.
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Chuck Huckelberry, Pima County Administrator: If Proposition 100 does not pass your property taxes will go up permanently. Why? The Department of Corrections budget will be cut and it will transfer 1,800 inmates to the Pima County jail, which will cost the county $50 million a year. The jail is already near its capacity of 2,000 prisoners. Triple bunking has occurred in the past but is not a viable option because federal courts have ruled that it is not allowed. As a result, the county is looking at other alternatives including closed motels and schools.
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Ron Shoopman, President of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (SALC): Mr. Shoopman represents 100 CEOs and community leaders in Southern Arizona. Arizona is facing a structural deficit. Currently, revenues are around the 2004 level, yet Arizona has 145,000 new students, 11,600 new prisoners, and 475,000 people needing medical assistance–all services Arizona has promised to provide its citizens. Proposition 100 isn’t the first choice for business leaders, but it’s the “only horse in the race.” Inaction will make problems worse. Arizona needs permanent answers. But the community should recognize the significance of major members of the business community supporting Proposition 100. Failure to adequately fund education makes it impossible to recruit new businesses to our state. ”It’s our state and our future.”
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Dr. Rainer W.G. Gruessner, Chairman of the Department of Surgery, University of Arizona: If Proposition 100 does not pass, insurance premiums will rise, more uninsured patients will crowd emergency rooms and more hospitals will go into the red–affecting health care for all of us, not just the poor. Even if Proposition 100 does pass, there are twenty-four patients who will not receive transplants because of cuts to the state’s health care system for the poor. Those patients will die.

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Stephen MacCarthy, Vice President External Affairs, University of Arizona: The university sustained $100 million cut in 2009 with 600 positions eliminated. If Proposition 100 fails, there will be an additional $42 million in cuts. Another cut would impact personnel, as well as financial aid and resources to students who are already facing a tuition hike. In addition to the 2009 cuts and the contingent cuts if Proposition 100 fails, there is also ”a cliff” in July, when the federal maintenance of effort protections “disappear.” “What this means,” MacCarthy said, “is that it is not unrealistic to expect that in a 36-month period, we could be looking at a cut at the University of Arizona of as much as 50% of our original state funding. That is the steepest, fastest decline in the history of higher education funding.” During the great depression, funding for universities actually went up. We risk losing professors and the grants they receive, which bring revenue to the community.
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Dr. Nic Clement, Superintendent of Flowing Wells, Co-Chair of the Tucson School Superintendent Collaborative: In order to attract quality teachers, employees and workers, you have to offer competitive pay. “If I thought we were wasting money, I wouldn’t be up here today.” If Proposition 100 doesn’t pass, approximately $91 million won’t be coming to schools in Pima County. “You have to think of it as [$91 million] not coming to our economy.” What’s more, Dr. Clement pointed out, laying off teachers and paying their unemployment benefits will be a significant cost to districts. Districts will have approximately 1,000 layoffs in addition to salary cuts. Layoffs could result in the payment of approximately $9 million for unemployment benefits for teachers. In addition, unemployed teachers result in the loss of state income taxes that won’t be collected due to those layoffs. “If you have questions, call your school. Talk to your school board members. They want you to know the facts.”
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Part Two
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Sue Krahe, Our Family Services, Director: “Many of us who work within the human service field, especially in the area of mental health, are just appalled by what is going to happen if Proposition 100 fails.” Services to our states most vulnerable are going to decline further. Calls from individuals in crisis/need will continue. “I don’t know where the help is going to come from. So we’re going to fill up your jails . . . police are going to get busy again, and there aren’t enough police to get busy again.” Services that protect children concern Krahe the most should Proposition 100 fail. “The number of homeless is skyrocketing. Take ten people with you to the polls. We need to vote ‘Yes’ on 100.”
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Penelope Jacks, Children’s Action Alliance, Southern Arizona Director: Ms. Jacks spoke about the impact on children and children’s services. She provided a Children’s Action Alliance handout for the forum. Specifically, there will be an additional $50 million reduction from the Department of Economic Security (DES). There are no details as to where the cuts will be made or how the cuts will impact services. Jacks suspects the reason specifics have intentionally been left out is “any time you name a service to be cut, you create an interest group around that service.” Jacks stated that if Proposition 100 does not pass, “the blood that is gushing from these cuts already will be falling on the floor. Not one dollar that would come from Proposition 100 goes to restore a cut. All it does is go to avoid greater cuts to come . . . If Proposition 100 does not pass, the budget that we will see will make our state unrecognizable.”
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