Arizona Education Network

You are invited to attend an education forum for all gubernatorial candidates presented by:

Arizona Business and Education Coalition

Arizona Education Network

Arizona Hispanic Administrators Association

Arizona Parent Teacher Association

Arizona School Administrators Association

Arizona School Boards Association

Expect More Arizona

East Valley Institute of Technology

Greater Phoenix Educational Management Council

Scottsdale Community College Students’ Association

Stand for Education

Support Our Schools AZ

Voices for Education
Moderated by: Center for Civic Participation

The following candidates will present their plans for the future of education in our state:

Jan Brewer (Republican)

Larry Gist (Green)

Terry Goddard (Democrat)

Barry Hess (Libertarian)

Two candidates have emerged from the Arizona primary election for Superintendent of Public Instruction. They are Penny Kotterman and John Huppenthal. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is the top education official in the state, and acts as the Chairman of the State Board of Education and is the head of the Department of Education. The Superintendent of Public Instruction influences policy in the legislature, is responsible for the implementation of education legislation and is in charge of the Department of Education and its interactions with school districts. Further, the Superintendent of Public Instruction commands the bully pulpit on education issues and has a great deal of influence on the direction the state takes regarding educational issues like school funding. Because of the importance of this officeholder, we have gathered information to help you make an informed decision on November 2 when you elect the next Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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.

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.

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.

Arizona Gubernatorial, Legislative, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidates are gearing up for what promises to be an exciting election season. Here you will find a listing of candidates, as well as links to help you identify what legislative district you live in and related articles.

The Arizona Education Network and other parent and community organizations have sponsored or have spoken at several community forums about the state of education funding and Proposition 100. You can find the presentations and/or links to the school districts.

Welcome to your AEN Proposition 100 Tool Kit! Here you will find ideas, suggestions, and resources for getting the word out in your community about Proposition 100. There are a variety of ways you can effectively advocate for your schools. These activities can be limited to your immediate family or you can recruit an entire neighborhood.

Welcome to AEN’s 2010 Voter Guide: Resources you need for the August 24, 2010 Primary and the November 2, 2010 General Elections!

Here you will find important dates, voter registration links, and a listing of county voter registration and election information.

On Monday, February 1st, Governor Brewer issued a proclamation, calling for a sixth Special Session to run concurrent with the regular session. Voting began in the Senate Tuesday, where legislation passed and has been transmitted to the House and was later assigned to the House Committee on Rules.

A list of members for the Arizona House and Senate Education and Appropriations committees referenced regularly in AEN legislative updates. In general, each of these committees are charged with the important task of “hammering out” legislation that impacts Education, as well as our state’s budget.

Monday, January 11, 2010 Governor Brewer will deliver her much anticipated “State of the State” address, in which she will promise to “right our ship” and “bring Arizona back home.” Governor Brewer’s address signals the return of Arizona lawmakers to the Capitol where they will begin work to address the state’s budget crisis.

A recap of recent legislation as it pertains to education.

This section will provide you with an alphabetical listing of all state legislators, detailing their biography, educational voting history, pertinent quotes and media links to recent articles. Still a work in progress.

Lawmakers have been called back to Phoenix by Governor Brewer for a special session to address the budget deficit, now at $2.2 billion. House Majority Whip Andy Tobin said the deal that legislative leaders have reached with Gov. Jan Brewer would include $140 million in cuts to K-12 education. This would be to tackle the budget that was due June 30, 2009, now more than four months late.

In the wake of $133 million in state cuts to education, Arizona school districts have opted to place overrides or bonds on the November 3, 2009 ballot. The Arizona Education Network encourages voters to vote “YES” to these overrides or bonds so that these school districts can restore funding back to levels necessary for educating Arizona’s future.

After another very contentious week of wrangling, the House and Senate finally passed a set of budget bills and sent the resulting package to the Governor for her review. A full recap and links to media articles provided.

Enter into this section of the website for practical and factual rebuttals to some of the most “interesting” spin out there!

Monday, August 10: Legislators are expected to resume budget negotiations today at 1:00pm. The temporary sales tax ballot proposal – long a sticking point with members who had signed a special interest “anti-tax” pledge – is now set to be spun off from the existing tax bill and voted upon as a separate entity. Your Arizona Education Network correspondents provide you with the latest links and answer a number of your questions regarding the budget, how it impacts our schools and how a Washington DC lobbyist seems to rank above the Arizona voter in some legislative circles.

Ready! Set! Go back to school! Your AEN team have a few additional items of academic swag to add to your list; tools you’ll need to be an effective advocate for your child and his/her school community.

Question: I just read that Senate President Robert Burns reiterated the urgency of our budget situation…just before he himself left for a special interest junket in Georgia. Is this true? This sounded a little dubious to us – why would the leader of the Senate skip out on important, on-going negotiations this week regarding our unresolved multi-billion dollar deficit, especially just issuing the “all-hands-on-deck” directive? While we hoped that this was just political gossip, we confirmed today that it’s TRUE…Senator Burns is leaving this afternoon for a week-long American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference!

Dear Friends of Education,

APPLE, Arizona Parents for Public Education, is sending out a letter to our governor and legislators calling for a bi-partisan approach to crafting a k-12 education budget. Please click the following link to read the letter and sign the petition: http://www.ccsupportourstudents.com/APPLE_LETTER.html

Sincerely,

Your AEN Team

25,000 Students in Arizona Now Homeless; Up 18% in Past Year

More bad news for Arizona student today as The Arizona Republic reported Arizona Department of education student homeless numbers for 2008-2009. The article reports that; “[t]he number of homeless schoolchildren in Arizona has surpassed 25,000 – equivalent to the population of Fountain Hills.”

July 1, 2009 – AEN Interviews Tom Horne, Superintendent of Public Education

In the wake of Governor Brewer’s veto of the education portion of the budget, Arizona Education Network contacted AZ State Superintendent Tom Horne for his comments on the impact of the veto on public education in Arizona.

It was a long Saturday at the Capitol today. The House Appropriations meeting was scheduled for 9 AM but was delayed until 11:38 AM due to large turnout of protesters who marched the Capitol expressing their opposition to the budget. .. Related Articles: Arizona teachers protest budget plan’s tax cuts ~ Arizona Daily Star Boisterous education rally briefly shuts  Continue Reading >

Listing and links to the House Education Committee bills scheduled to be heard on June 22, 2009

We examine House bill HB2495 (In-State Tuition; Veterans) as part of our education legislation series. There are currently 1,111 bills posted in the Arizona State Legislature – is this one a benefit to the citizens of our state?

Listing and links to bills scheduled to be heard in the Arizona Senate Committee on Education Accountability and Reform on June 24, 2009.

A quick visual on how our elected officials voted on educational legislation.

2009 Arizona State Legislators Click here to find your District District 1 Sen. Steve Pierce R-Prescott Phone: 602-926-5584 Email: spierce@azleg.gov Web site: electstevepierce.com Rep. Lucy Mason R-Prescott Phone: 602-926-5874 Email: lmason@azleg.gov Rep. Andy Tobin House majority whip; R-Paulden  Phone: 602-926-5172 Email: atobin@azleg.gov Web site: andytobin.com District 2 Sen. Albert Hale D-Window Rock Phone: 602-926-4323 Email:  Continue Reading >

By clicking the above link, this section provides a listing of education activists located around the state of Arizona.

A review of the educational history of Arizona

The best way to make a difference is to act now! You can follow these links for more information on what you can do and contribute to Arizona’s Education. List of Arizona School Districts How to advocate for our schools Calendar of Events

Arizona Schools – Quick Facts Demographics w Academic Performance w Public & Private Overview The Arizona Education Network is working to provide factual, relevant and easy-to-understand statistical data as it pertains to our state schools. We currently provide contact information for all of Arizona’s public K-12 school districts, charter schools, colleges and universities – simply  Continue Reading >

Charter schools in Arizona are public schools which receive money from the state but are all freed from some of the regulatory requirements of a ‘traditional’ public school district. To find out more about the difference between charter and traditional schools in Arizona, please click here. This directory lists Arizona charter schools by county &  Continue Reading >

The following is a listing of Arizona state (public) universities, private universities and colleges and community colleges. Explanations provided come directly from the college or university’s own website. ……………………………… State Universities: ………………………….. ………………………… Arizona State University Arizona State University PO Box 870112 Tempe, AZ 85287-0112 Phone: 480-965-7788 http://www.asu.edu/ ASU serves more than 64,000 students in  Continue Reading >

Moving to Arizona? Looking for information on a specific school district? We have provided information on each public school district below. Districts are listed by city name: City District Name Zip Code(s) Website Address and Phone Number Ajo Ajo Unified School District 85321 www.ajoschools.org (520) 387-5618 Alpine Alpine Elementary District 85920 http://alpine.az.schoolwebpages.com (928) 339-4570 Apache  Continue Reading >