Eureka: Arizona Schools Can Spend the Money Promised to Them

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A day after the Arizona House of Representatives passed HCR2001,  a measure to suspend the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL,) the State Senate followed their example in a 23 to 7 vote today (February 8, 2023.)

All 14 Democrats and Nine Republicans voted to give educators, children, and family peace of mind about schooling for the rest of the year.

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Seven other Republicans, including the Grand Canyon states most reactionary, did not support giving schools the monies promised them to fulfill their commitment to children.

The measure now goes to Governor Katie Hobbs for her signature.

Commenting in a press release on the passage of the AEL suspension, Governor Hobbs stated:

“A month ago, during my State of the State Address, I called on the Arizona Legislature to override an archaic cap on school funding and free schools to use the funding already allocated to them in last year’s budget. Today, the Legislature completed this long overdue action and showed our students, educators, and parents that we can come together to do what’s right.”

“The spending cap has been overridden: our educators have the assurance that schools will remain open and have access to the $1.3 billion that is due to them.”

“It means that superintendents and district leaders can continue employing our valuable teachers, counselors, and support staff. Our teachers can focus on giving students every opportunity to achieve success, not shutting down classrooms. Our counselors can foster well-rounded and strong individuals. Our students can grow and become the leaders of tomorrow. And parents are relieved of the worry of schools being shut down in the middle of the school year.”

“I believe in our educators and our students. There’s more work to be done for them. We must continue to fight for better schools and to level the playing field. It is clear that a permanent fix is needed to address the school spending limit. Let’s rebuild and reinvest in our schools, ensure accountability, and resolve the educator retention crisis.”

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne also issued a statement, offering:

“It is great news for the education system that the exception to the school spending limit was passed by the legislature. I campaigned hard for this result and in the process assured legislators that the Department of Education would promote accountability, work to increase academic outcomes, and provide the transparency that legislators are looking for. We will accomplish that task.”

The Arizona Senate Democrats posted a release on social media, relaying:

In the party statement, educator, State Senator, and ranking member on the Senate Education Committee Christine Marsh wrote:

“This is a strong show of bipartisanship and one I hope can continue as we identify a more permanent solution for our public schools. As we all know, this is $1.3 billion in funding that this body negotiated AND appropriated last session, and it was sitting on the chopping block until today. I’m grateful we are acting today to relieve the stress and anxiety that parents, students, teachers, and all school personnel have been facing.”

Senate Democratic Leader Raquel Teran made a separate post, stating:

Assistant Democratic Leader Senator Mitzi Epstein posted:

Senator Priya Sundareshan also offered:

Marisol Garcia, the leader of the Arizona Education Association issued a statement that read:

“Failing to lift the education funding cap would have closed schools across the state and plunged communities, families and businesses into chaos. It was never an option.”

“Unfortunately, a small group of lawmakers chose to play political games for months, creating completely unnecessary anxiety and confusion. We are grateful to Representative David Cook for his leadership on HCR2001 and to all the state legislators who voted to end the infuriating uncertainty over the funding cap.”

HCR2001 passed the Arizona State Senate by a vote of 23-7, with all Democrats voting in favor along with 9 Republicans. Although HCR2001 waives the education funding cap for this year, the cap will remain in place for subsequent years.

“We are glad that the education funding cap is no longer an issue for 2022-2023. But our state legislature ultimately needs to eliminate the cap entirely, so that we are not forced to have this same fight year after year. Educators are signing contracts for the 2023-2024 school year right now, and the constant, looming possibility of months-long school closures only makes it that much harder for schools to retain qualified and passionate educators.”

David Lujan of the Children’s Action Alliance remarked on social media:

Senator Sundareshan and AEA leader Garcia are both right.

While this is a wonderful event at the State Legislature and school districts and their teams can breathe a collective sigh of relief now that they know they can spend the monies promised to them, a permanent solution needs to be found.

This is the second year in a row, educators across the Grand Canyon state have had to wait to until a couple of weeks before spring break on whether or not they can keep their full staff on payroll.

That is wrong for Arizona’s educators and children.

This drama should not be allowed to happen again in 2024.

Voters need to go to the polls on Election Day, 2024 to repeal the AEL.

It is an archaic law that no longer fits the times.

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