The TABOR rule would require backing from the majority of the 60-person House and would preclude it from even considering a budgetary bill that would exceed the rule’s limit, namely any increase in spending above the past year’s level OR the past year’s level of revenue, whichever is less.

This binds the Legislature to spending levels at or below current level, locking in cuts made necessary by a flagging economy for good.  It was bad law last session when it was vetoed by the Governor’s office, and it’s bad rule-making now.

Click here to find and contact your state representatives.  Ask them NOT to support this rule.  Tell them that:

• TABOR is too restrictive and it exempts elective officials from seriously considering any budgetary legislation on its own merits. Our representatives are elected to make well-informed and measured decisions about matters affecting the state.  With this cookie-cutter approach, who needs legislators?
• TABOR locks in the effects of a bad economy for years to come.
• Legislative rules are meant to be procedural in nature and should NOT impose policy strictures on members.
• The only state to ever enact TABOR legislation was Colorado and voters later junked the TABOR law in the wake of its disastrous results.

For more information on TABOR, check out these links:

Legislature Passes Bill Locking in Cuts for Years to Come, Arizona Education Network, April 20, 2011

Don’t force Arizona into fiscal shackles, The Arizona Republic, January 30, 2012

House GOP looks to rule change for spending limit, AzCapitolTimes.com, January 26, 2012 (Note: this article requires log in to access)

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 the dollars that would have been allocated to public schools on behalf of that student would be transfered from the Arizona Department of Education back to the Treasury to be deposited in an ESA on behalf of the student.  The parents of the special needs child can then access those funds to pay for an array of educational purposes including private school tuition, tutoring, distance learning, community college classes and educational software.  The parents of the child need only agree not to enroll the student in the state’s public school system (either traditional or charter).  Parents would also agree to document the monies taken from the ESA were spent on educational purposes.

ASBA and AEA challenged the measure, stating it funneled public monies into private school coffers.  The court disagreed based on the fact that parents could spend the money in a variety of different ways that did not benefit private schools exclusively.  Consequently, the prohibition of using public funds to benefit private or religious schools is not breached.

It is unclear at this time whether ASBA and/or AEA will continue the challenge to ESAs via the appellate process.  However, what is clear is that state lawmakers see this program as the vanguard to the expansion of ESAs to students attending underperforming public schools, bringing Arizona that much closer to a full-fledged school voucher system.

For more information on the ESAs, see AEN’s earlier post: Sen. Rick Murphy: If Empowerment Accounts for Special Needs Students Ruled Legal, Will Be Template for All AZ Students

Every PTA/PTO/FFO is permitted to have a legislative report presented at its monthly meeting. The report must be a regular item on the agenda. This report can include information on the legislative action on education, budgets, school board elections, overrides, bonds and propositions. The report must be informational and cannot advocate a political position and is a great way to make sure parents and teachers are up to date on education issues that will affect them.

The following information is summarized and provided for you to share at your school’s monthly PTO/PTA/FFO meetings. Please watch this article for updates.

The Governor’s Budget Proposal as it Pertains to Education Funding

• No increase in funding per student for public schools.
• $50 million in funds designated to help young, at-risk readers who are facing the Move on When Ready 3rd grade litmus test for reading.
• $200 million allocated for soft capital expenses: books, computers and other in-classroom supplies.
• New approach to funding the construction of new schools and building renewal.(NOTE: The current system for school construction and building renewal–the School Facilities Board (SFB)–was established in response to Roosevelt v. Bishop which dealt with inequities of school facilities between districts.  It is unclear at this point whether Governor Brewer’s recommendations would be in compliance with this court-mandated system.)
• A one-time allocation of $100 million for building renewal. (NOTE:  The building renewal formula mandated by the SFB has not been fully funded since FY2008.)
• $4.6 million in GED funding.
• $10 million for SMART scholarships.

Pending Legislation:  The following bills have had significant activity as of our publishing date.

• School Tuition Organizations(STOs):  Two bills expand current laws pertaining to private school tax credit donations.  The first bill (SB1047) increases the amount of tax credit donations an individual can make to private school STOs from $500 to $100 (single filer) and from $1000 to $2000 (joint filer) and imposes a requirement for the additional amounts to be designated only for those students switching from public to private schools for the first time.  The second bill (SB1048) eliminates the requirement of receiving private schools to administer and report the aggregate results of its students’ test scores AND the requirement for these schools to fingerprint personnel. While these bills are not specifically related to public education funding, they do reduce the money available to fund vital state services–including public education.  Both bills list Senator Steve Yarbrough as a primary sponsor–among others.  Yarbrough’s sponsorship is significant because he runs Arizona’s largest STO, which will benefit from the liberalization of the laws governing them.
• National School Lunch Program (NSLP):  SB1061 changes the state law which currently mandates school districts participate in NSLP.  This bill will allow public schools to opt out of the program.   The NSLP provides free and reduced lunch to poor students in exchange for federal funds that subsidize the delivery of the lunches.The bill is sponsored by Senator Rich Crandall. The new federal guidelines were released for the first time in 15 years on Wednesday, January 25, 2012. You can read those guidelines here.

Pending Legislation: These two bills have not been assigned to committee yet, but are of interest to parents.

• Public school tax credits: HB2339 has bi-partisan sponsorship and would give school principals more latitude on the usage of undesignated public school tax credit donations.  These funds could be used for any Educational Activity that is “sponsored and sanctioned by the public school and that promotes student  learning and achievement, including extracurricular activities, activities that lead to college and career readiness, activities that meet the students’ needs, equipment, materials, fees, tuition and any other financial obligation of the student or public school that promotes learning and student achievement. Educational activities do not include employee salaries or benefits.”
• Parental Involvement: HB2145 would require parents of each public school student to contribute at least 30 hours of classroom assistance each school year.

For a full review of all legislation introduced to date in the session, click here.

Watch for updates to this post as the legislative session progresses.  **Updated 1/30/12: Monday, January 30, 2012 is the last day for Senate members to introduce bills, while House members have until February 6, 2012 to introduce bills for consideration this session.**

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 and business organizations released today.

“Support for continuation of the tax is broad-based, with Independents, Republicans, and Democrats all in favor,” said Dr. Bruce Merrill of Merrill Research, who conducted the poll.

“Voters seem to understand that the key to a solid education system is stable funding, school performance, and accountability,” said Ann-Eve Pedersen, President of the Arizona Education Parent Network. “With stable funding, educational institutions will be able to plan and implement strategies to improve student achievement and outcomes.”

This past summer, a number of groups representing various business, parent, and education community perspectives came together with the goal to improve Arizona’s educational outcomes. Organizations providing input included Education Breakthrough Network, Arizona Business and Education Coalition, Arizona Education Parent Network, Arizona School Boards Association, Arizona Education Association, Teach for America, and Stand for Children, among others.

In addition to meeting Arizona’s future public education needs, education groups are concerned by the pending expiration of Prop. 100 and the education funding gap it will create.

In May of 2010, Arizona voters enacted Prop. 100, a one-cent sales tax that has generated approximately $900 million annually. The expiration of the existing tax will result in a loss of hundreds of millions in education funding in FY 2014. Studies show Arizona continually lags among the bottom of all states in terms of public education funding and academic performance. Overall, the expiration of the tax will result in $1 billion less revenue to the state’s general fund, adversely impacting public education, public safety, health and human services, and university programs.

A group is in the final planning stages for a November 2012 ballot initiative, the details of which will be released in mid-to-late January.

The poll, conducted last month, surveyed 800 likely voters in Arizona, and revealed the electorate’s desire to strengthen the state’s education system across-the-board. Some key findings were:

• When asked about spending priorities, eight in 10 respondents ranked public education as very high or high. Cutting state taxes or replenishing the state’s “rainy day” fund ranked considerably lower, with only 40 and 43 percent ranking such efforts very high or high priority respectively.

• Voters support the notion of Performance Plans created by each school district and charter school to demonstrate how funding will be used to increase student performance. “We simply cannot issue a blank-check to Arizona school districts,” said Pedersen. “While Arizonans want more investment in K-12 education, these dollars must be tied to student performance if we want to meaningfully improve education in our state.”

• If the proposal includes scholarships for universities and community college students, 71 percent of voters are more likely to support the continuation of the one-cent sales tax. There was also substantial support for using increased university funding for both scholarships and operations.

• The poll revealed broad-based support across all political affiliations: Democrats (85 percent), independents (72 percent), and Republicans (63 percent). Self-identified members of the Tea Party would also support the initiative (60 percent).

• Three out of four likely voters believe that losing the Prop. 100 funds will be a very serious issue for education in Arizona. In addition, 75 percent respondents expressed little to no confidence that the Legislature would increase education funding even if state tax revenues were to rise.

• By a wide margin, voters support establishing a base level of funding for K-12 education, which would bar the legislature from cutting education funding below 2011 levels.

Dr. Bruce Merrill is one of Arizona’s most recognized and acknowledged pollsters. He is a Professor Emeritus of Mass Communication at ASU. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics, an M.S. in Political Science, an M.S. in Counseling Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Political Behavior from the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan where he trained at the Michigan Survey Research Center. Dr. Merrill was the founding director of the ASU Survey Research Center, founding Director of the Public Opinion Research Center at ASU, and founding director of the Walter Cronkite Media Research Center at ASU. He has conducted hundreds of surveys for private, public, and educational organizations throughout Arizona, the United States and several foreign countries.

Contact: Ann-Eve Pedersen
January 5, 2012 anneve@arizonaeducationnetwork.com
520-390-5693

• 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 Proficient in a recent national reading test.  NOTE from AEN:  The report seems to cite 2009 NAEP reading scores for this age group performing at or above Proficient. The 2011 numbers recently released cite a rate of 26% of 4th graders at or above Proficient.
• The state is on the downside of a boom-and-bust economy.
• Just one in four Phoenix residents age 24 or older has a bachelor’s degree or higher.
• The state Legislature is more and more divorced from the views of the average Arizonan with just 27% of Arizonans satisfied with state government.
• Arizona per capita income in 2008 was $33,768, well below the U.S. average of $40,208.

• 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 billion in financial aid is provided for by the state general fund with the lion’s share coming directly from the universities in the form of tuition waivers, employment, scholarships and other funds.
• Arizona ranks 49th in the country when measuring the amount of state-funded financial aid provided to students.
• The average debt of a student receiving  a bachelor’s degree from an Arizona university has risen to  nearly $22,000.
• Total wages earned by college graduates in Arizona over the last 20 years was $11.1 billion dollars which translated into $778 million in taxes paid to the state general fund.

Several observations can be made:

• A higher percentage of bond projects was approved than of budget override measures.  (Ten of fifteen bond issues approved at 67%; fifteen of thirty-seven overrides approved at 41%).
• Maricopa county passed 100% of its seven bond measures and only seven of the sixteen (44%) overrides.
• Pima county passed 100% of its bond measure–though only one bond measure was on the ballot–and four of six (67%) override measures;
• Pinal county passed only one of its four bond measures (25%) and passed none of the five override measures on the ballot.
• Of the remaining outlying counties one of three bond measures (33%) was approved while four of ten override requests passed (40%).

Click here to read about one school district’s reaction to its defeated bond and override measures.

Click here to read about Flagstaff Unified School District’s use of current bond/override funds and their plans for future requests to voters.

Introducing the 2011 Arizona News Service
Capitol Roadshow

Join Arizona News Service, parent company of Arizona Capitol Times, as we go on the road across our state to help educate Arizonans about the legislative process. Our mission, as a non-partisan newspaper and media company, is to share information with our clients, subscribers and readers, to help them make decisions on what unfolds at the Capitol. Our team of experts, staff and lawmakers will visit Flagstaff, Tucson, Prescott and Maricopa County.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
December 8
8:30 registration
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. discussions

High Country Conference Center
Northern Arizona University
201 West Butler Avenue – Flagstaff, AZ 86001
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Why Capitol Roadshow?
The Arizona News Service Capitol Roadshow is the only non-partisan glance at Arizona politics. With its mission to engage more citizens in the political process, the Capitol Roadshow will tour the state and educate citizens on vital issues impacting Arizonans.

How a bill becomes a law
Understanding the process of how a bill becomes law is important to being engaged in the political process. Each step in the process is crucial to a bill surviving the legislative process and ultimately becoming a law.

Getting engaged and implementing a grassroots strategy at the Capitol (panel discussion)
Becoming engaged in what happens at the Capitol is an important first step to implementing a grassroots strategy. This panel discussion will help understand the tactics and strategies behind running a successful grassroots campaign.

Social Media – how it’s changing the face of politics (panel discussion)
With the emergence of new technologies, social media has become a power player in politics. With almost 1 billion users on Facebook and Twitter, social media has changed the way people communicate, the way information is dispersed and the way people engage in the political system. It’s also expected it will change the landscape of next year’s state and local elections. Our panel will explore social media and give you strategies for staying current on what’s transpiring and what some of the hottest trends will be in 2012.

Media Panel – What’s happening at the Capitol, what to expect, redistricting and much more
With an upcoming Legislative Session and Arizona in the midst of redistricting and 2012 elections, this will be a very important time for Arizona’s political climate. This media panel will discuss what to expect and how these changes will impact Arizonans.

Q&A with Local Politicians

Free to attend!
Plus all attendees receive a complimentary
Citizen Government Guide, a $19.95 value.

To register visit http://capitolroadshow.eventbrite.com
For more information call 602-889-7129 or email events@azcapitoltimes.com

Sponsored by:
Northern Arizona University

Follow us on Facebook – Capitol Roadshow
or Twitter – @CapitolRoadshow

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 our state faces each year–education advocates are worried. But they’re not sitting idle.

Groups dedicated to a strong public education system for Arizona have been meeting for the last several months, strategizing toward a stable source of funding for public education in the state.  After absorbing $1.3 billion in cuts during fiscal years 2008 to present, schools simply cannot take any more hits.  Recognizing this, these groups have been working hard on drafting a November 2012 ballot initiative to establish this stable funding source.

Groups involved in the talks include:

• Arizona Education Network
• Arizona Business Education Coalition
• Arizona Education Association
• Arizona School Boards Association

Check out these links for more information about these group meetings:

Education advocates worry about budget hole after tax ends, Cronkite News, Wednesday November 2, 2011

Education network urges united effort for ballot initiative, The Glendale Star, Thursday November 3, 2011

]]> http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2011/11/education-groups-strategize-for-long-term-public-education-funding/feed/ 0 http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2011/10/ua-president-sander-on-public-education-budget-cuts-and-the-looming-funding-cliff/ http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/2011/10/ua-president-sander-on-public-education-budget-cuts-and-the-looming-funding-cliff/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:02:55 +0000 aenadmin http://www.arizonaeducationnetwork.com/?p=6701  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 unprepared students coming out of the K-12 system;
• Future UA budgeting and the funding cliff;
• The connection between education and prosperity;
• And much more.

The UA is an important stakeholder in our state’s public education debate. To read the entire op-ed piece, click here.

http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/sander-what-kind-of-state-do-you-want-to-live/article_cdee8420-ba66-5b6c-9a96-e6face9e372b.html

No details on proposition language or provisions are available at this time. Check this website and the AEN newsletter for information as it becomes available.

We will have a chance in November 2012 to put the people back in power, rather than feeling powerless over the cuts that have punished our children with much larger class sizes, lack of basics like textbooks and the loss of counselors, librarians, music and arts or P.E.

All summer, we’ve been helping spearhead the effort to draft a voter initiative that will provide stable funding for our children’s schools for generations to come.  If we can pass this initiative, it will allow Arizona to reinvest wisely in education and prevent the budgetary freefall that has endangered our children and our state’s economy.

To pass this initiative, we will need your help to:

Circulate petitions (We will need to collect 225,000 signatures by July 5, 2012)

• Go door-to-door to talk with voters
• Make a contribution to help pay for legal fees to draft the ballot language, print election signs, run TV and radio ads and more.
• Help spread the word to other education supporters

Can you help? Join the Arizona Campaign for Education 2012 by completing this survey.   Your information will be kept confidential.

Below is a listing of resources on our website you may be interested in:

Click here to find the 2011 Legislative Voting Record on Education Funding.

Print a copy of the 2011 Education Legislation Handout to share with those in your community who are concerned about the state of public education funding in Arizona.

Since the beginning of the fiscal year, the state has collected approximately $35 million in tax revenues over the amount projected when the budget was devised.  Public education stakeholders are naturally interested in what the state will do with this money in light of the nearly $1.3 billion in cuts to K-12, community colleges and university education over the last three fiscal years.

Public health and safety budgets were also greatly reduced.  Will the money be restored to these deserving coffers?  All Arizonans should watch closely as the fiscal year progresses to see how these excess funds are spent.

Click here to read the entire Arizona Daily Star article.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/education/precollegiate/article_71e1d092-19ec-53a2-89e1-60ba6206581f.html

The study goes on to point out the far-reaching consequences of these large cuts to the states involved.  These include:

• The undermining of education reforms such as professional development to improve teacher quality and intervention programs;
• Loss of highly trained, high-quality teachers;
• Diminished learning time as some districts go to a four-day week;
• Unknown loss of additional private sector jobs as districts cancel or scale back private sector purchasing;
• Disinvestment in the educational standards of future workers.

To read the full report, go to New School Year Brings Steep Cuts in State Funding for Schools

AZ School districts cut 10,000 jobs in year, Arizona Daily Star, September 3, 2011