Arizona Education Network

This website page contains resources to help you make an educated decision on which candidates support public education for the 2010 primary and general election.

2010 Legislative Sessions: Education Funding Voting Record by Legislator . . You can find your legislative district by visiting here or Project Vote Smart at www.votesmart.org. . You can visit our 2009 Voter Record here. . Legislative Districts are grouped by color for visual differentiation only. . Scroll to the bottom of the page for  Continue Reading >

All candidates running for the state Senate or House of Representatives in the 2010 primary were asked to complete our survey on issues surrounding public education in Arizona. The survey consists of 12 multiple-choice questions. A comment section follows each section allowing candidates the opportunity to clarify or elaborate upon their answers. Per our protocol, candidates were emailed the survey on on June 22 and sent two reminder emails prior to the July 16 deadline. If a candidate did not submit a survey, it is noted by their name.

The Joint Legislative Budget Council (JLBC) released an analysis of budget cuts to the state general fund operating budget over the last four fiscal years (2008-2011). According to the report, Arizona has faced four consecutive years with a budget shortfall. Over the last four years, Arizona’s K-12 public schools have seen a $883.9 million reduction in funding. Similarly, funding for the state’s community colleges has been cut by $53.5 million and the universities by $232.5 million.

The candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction have been invited to a forum to be held Thursday, August 12, 2010, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson, the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the Arizona Education Network, Literacy for Life Coalition and Tucson Values Teachers.

The spring 2010 Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) scores were released Thursday by the Arizona Department of Education.

There are five candidates running for the state-wide office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. They are Margaret Dugan, John Huppenthal, Penny Kotterman, Beth Price and Jason Williams.

Phoenix-based PBS channel Eight recently aired a special edition of Horizon where host Ted Simons moderated two Clean Elections debates with the candidates running for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The first debate featured Republican candidates Margaret Dugan, John Huppenthal, and Beth Price. The second debate featured the Democratic candidates Penny Kotterman and Jason Williams.

A recent Newsweek article titled “The Creativity Crisis” reported on a William & Mary study by Kyung Hee Kimon showing that creativity in American children is decreasing. According to study, which analyzed almost 300,000 Torrance scores of children and adults, creativity scores have declined since 1990.

An analysis by the Arizona Education Network of the Arizona Learns 2008-2009 Achievement Profiles for All Schools published by the Arizona Department of Education shows that traditional public school performed better than charter schools over the same period.

The House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4899) authorizing $80 billion in spending for troop increases in Afghanistan. The bill also contained a provision to appropriate $10 billion for the Education Jobs Fund. The Education Jobs fund is designed to provide aid to districts to retain teachers that would otherwise be laid off.