Arizona Education Network

A Maricopa County Superior Court has rejected a legal challenge by the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) and the Arizona Education Association (AEA) to Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs). ESAs were established by legislation passed in a prior session allowing parents of special needs students to “cash out” of the public school system.  Ninety percent of  Continue Reading >

Arizona Voters Support Sales Tax Continuation to Fund Public Education. Poll shows high level of support as well as demands for reform. Seven out of 10 Arizona voters support the continuation of the existing one-cent sales tax to fund public education. That was among the findings of a poll commissioned by a number of educational  Continue Reading >

Today’s Arizona Republic offers a laundry list of issues Arizonans need to address before it’s too late.  In We’ve got problems, the Republic summarizes the Arizona Directions 2012 report. The state budget is about to go over a one billion dollar cliff as the one-cent sales tax expires in 2013.* Just 25% of Arizona fourth-graders were  Continue Reading >

In their 2011 Student Financial Aid Report, the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) highlights the affect of state budget cuts on university students in Arizona. The report tells us: The number of students demonstrating financial need for higher education has increased by 88% in the last five years. Less than 1% of the roughly one  Continue Reading >

Below are posted  the preliminary, unofficial bond and override results from the November 2011 election (as of November 9, 2011).  Results will be updated when all election returns are finalized in early December 2012. Several observations can be made: A higher percentage of bond projects was approved than of budget override measures.  (Ten of fifteen  Continue Reading >

What will happen to public education funding when the temporary one-cent sales tax expires in 2013? What will happen to public education funding when $538 million in corporate tax breaks go into effect in 2014. With no legislative attention being paid to these massive losses to the general fund–or to the $500 million structural deficit  Continue Reading >

Sunday’s Arizona Daily Star printed excerpts  from a wide-ranging conversation with UA’s President,  Eugene G. Sander. Sander talks about: UA’s national and international reputation and its benefit to the community; The $182 million cut in funding at the university level and its effect on the school; Providing an enrichment experience and engaging students; The challenge of  Continue Reading >

Governor Brewer will not commit to applying excess tax revenues to restore funding cuts made to education, according to the Arizona Daily Star on September 12, 2011. Nor would she go on record to to protect education from additional cuts in future budget talks.  The Governor does commit to spending the surplus wisely. Since the  Continue Reading >

On September 2, 2011 the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released the first study examining funding cuts to public education from FY2008 – FY2012.  Data was available for the period for 24 states, including Arizona.  Arizona spending per student adjusted for inflation has decreased 24 percent. While many states have experienced substantial cuts to  Continue Reading >

On September 3, 2011, the Arizona Daily Star reported that Arizona school districts cut more than 10,000 employees–including 6,640 instructors–from March 2009 to March 2010, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.  Arizona Department of Education spokesman Andrew LeFevre said a decrease in student population is partly  responsible for the drop in funding  Continue Reading >

All public kindergartens in the state are implementing the newly adopted Common Core Standards into their curriculum beginning this school year, resulting in a more rigorous academic program for the state’s youngest students. The Common Core Standards have been voluntarily adopted by 48 states in an effort to standardize the public education curriculum across the  Continue Reading >

A few schools across the state are implementing the Move On When Ready program approved by the Legislature last session. Under the program, high school sophomores take rigorous core subject exams and, in effect, test out of the remaining two years of high school.  Awarded the Grand Canyon diploma, these students can immediately go on  Continue Reading >

Parents are being asked to provide an increasing amount of basic supplies to their children’s schools as Arizona students return to class.  As Alexis Huicochea reports in her article, Teachers Leaning on Parents for Supplies, (Sunday, August 14, 2011) some schools are starting the academic year with no budget for supplies.  These schools have asked  Continue Reading >

The Arizona Daily Star’s Josh Brodesky reports that Arizona’s divestiture in public education has occurred alongside the rising investment in an unlikely industry:  private prisons. (Private-prison expansion a crime, Sunday, August 14, 2011). As Brodesky puts it “education is a path to economic development and innovation.  But we are cutting it while funding hundreds of  Continue Reading >

On Sunday, April 10, the East Valley Tribune ran an editorial praising Governor Brewer and the legislature for making the hard choices necessary to produce a balanced budget.  The editorial singled out the Arizona Education Network because of our criticism regarding Governor Brewer’s failure to protect education. . The following is a guest commentary written  Continue Reading >

As part of the K-12 education budget bill SB1617,the Arizona Legislature dealt a devastating cut to the successful Joint Technology Education District (JTED) program.  The following is a press release by the Pima County JTED outlining the cuts and the impact they will have on JTED in Pima County.  Cuts will apply to all JTED districts  Continue Reading >

. . On Tuesday, March 22, 2011, the Arizona Republic published a statement from Governor Brewer regarding the Senate budget proposal now moving through the House.  See “Budget cuts shouldn’t devastate state priorities“. Governor Brewer asserted her budget proposal submitted in January was a restrained and reasonable approach to balancing the state’s finances, while holding as closely as  Continue Reading >

ASU President Michael M. Crow released a statement today detailing how the extensive cuts passed by the Senate would weaken Arizona State University.   The information in the statement shows exactly how dire these cuts will be to higher education in Arizona.  There is little doubt that cuts of this magnitude will have an adverse impact on the economic recovery  Continue Reading >

. The Arizona Constitution mandates that our legislators “…shall make such appropriations, to be met by taxation, as shall insure the proper maintenance of all state educational institutions, and shall make such special appropriations as shall provide for their development and improvement.” (Article 11, Section 10). The O’Connor House and Expect More Arizona have joined  Continue Reading >

Education Secretary Arne Duncan today (7/27/10) released the list of finalists for the second round of the Race to the Top federal grant program. Arizona is one of the 19 finalists.

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.

Raytheon Missile Systems would like to see local and state governments be pro-business, support education and help create an environment that makes people and businesses want to come to Tucson. “…we need to put as much effort into science, technology, engineering and math education as possible for our youth,” Lawrence said.

Fourteen percent of jobs projected for Arizona through the year 2018 will be suited for high school drop outs, according to the June 16, 2010 front page article in the Arizona Daily Star.

We’ll be posting updates on the May 18, 2010 special election as they come in. Specific data by polls may not be available for a few weeks.

Before we move on to the statistics, however, we want to send a big THANK YOU out to everyone who helped support the Yes to Proposition 100 campaign. The strong coalition of parents, educators, business people, retirees and students was remarkable. Many people put in a tremendous amount of volunteer hours to get the word out, and many more people took the time to look past the soundbites and thoughtfully analyze our state, school and public service budgets.

Proposition 100 Results PROPOSITION 100 PASSES IN A LANDSLIDE THANK YOU ARIZONA! Voter turnout was high and Proposition 100 passed, with 64% of Arizonans voting for the measure. Select news coverage of the election results: KVOA: Prop 100 supporters celebrate win Amphitheater parent Lisa Ferko: “Parents have come out and said public education is important  Continue Reading >

Kim Covington with Channel 12 KPNX in Phoenix sat down for an exclusive interview with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in Washington, D.C. to discuss the state of Arizona’s investment in public education and the second round Race to the Top application.

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.

The Department of Education announced yesterday (March 4, 2010) that Arizona was not chosen for phase one of the federal Race for the Top grant. Arizona can apply for the second round of grants in June, 2010.

The Arizona Republic is running a series about the next decade in Arizona called Arizona 2020, A Framework for the Next Decade. The article focuses on six categories: Education, the Budget, the Border, the Government, the Economy and the Vision of AZ. Two of these categories are of great interest to the Arizona Education Network.

The Pentagon has received anecdotal evidence suggesting military troops are avoiding deployment to Hawaii because of poor funding of its public education system.

. AEN members recently participated in a webinar titled “What to Expect: Arizona’s Race to the Top Application,”  presented by Arizona  School Boards Association [ASBA] and the Arizona Association of School Business Officials [AASBO]. The featured speaker was Mesa School District Superintendent Dr. Debra Duvall, who serves as a Special Advisor to Governor Brewer on the  Continue Reading >

Arizona State University President Michael Crow was named one of the top 10 college presidents by Time Magazine this week. Time cites increased research funding and national merit scholars as some of the factors that led to this honor.

More cuts to education in this surprise budget.

Earlier this summer Governor Brewer renewed the Arizona Community College Council.

. AZ  Misappropriates Education Stimulus Money? . Arizona qualifies for over $830 million in education cash under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  However, the state doesn’t have the $317 million it is due to pay schools Wednesday.  The state has had to borrow $130.9 million to make that payment.  But WHY hasn’t the state  Continue Reading >

Incoming President of Regents Aims to Cut Students’ Costs
FLAGSTAFF – Article excerpt The Arizona Daily Star by Aaron Mackey (6/20/09)
During a presentation to the board, Regent President-elect Ernest Calderón outlined a wide variety of proposals to increase the number of graduates while simultaneously lowering costs to students.

Recently governors and state commissioners of education across the country have to join a state-led process to develop a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. Learn more about this initiative here.

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.