Financial Doomsday for Arizona Public Schools Unless the Legislature Acts by March 1, 2022

Flagstaff Unified: $12,221,169.00

Peoria Unified: $43,129,178.00

Gilbert Unified: $39,916,655.00

Chandler Unified: $54,431,647.00

Washington Elementary: $25,185,300.00

Kyrene Elementary District: $17,570,323.00

Phoenix Union High School District: $45,668,003.00

Tucson Unified District: $58,180,470.00

Yuma Union High School District: $13,997,589.00

Mesa Unified District: $73,826,670.00

These are not the numbers showcasing what these school districts will receive in the latest round of American Rescue Plan funding.

These are the figures of what these school districts will not be able to spend, even though they have the money in their bank accounts, if the Arizona Legislature does not get its act together and override the cap on the K-12 aggregate spending limit by March 1, 2022.

If they do not, all school districts in Arizona will have to cut their budgets sixteen percent (about $1.1 billion total for all school districts across the state.) They would not be able to fully fund their schools for the fourth quarter. Teachers and staff would be laid off. Class sizes would explode. Services for children could be curtailed or totally cut off.

In short, financial doomsday for Arizona’s public schools.

Please click below to see how your child’s school district may be affected if schools are not allowed to spend the money they have after March 1, 2022.

District At Risk Budgeted Expenditures 11-5-21

How did we get here?

There are several reasons, that have been reported by both AZCentral and the Arizona Capitol Times, why public schools are facing this potentially devastating financial hardship through no fault of their own?

The first reason dates back to 1980 (the time before the current student population in K-12 schools and most of their parents were born,) when voters approved instilling spending limits onto the Arizona State Constitution. The measure has never been adapted to fit contemporary circumstances and school districts have had to rely on the good senses of their elected state legislators to waive the cap twice in the last four decades.

The second reason, according to reporting from AZ Central, is the declining enrollment in 2020/21 caused by the COVID 19 pandemic coupled with the infusion of sales tax revenue from Proposition 301 has caused districts to run up against the cap.

The final reason is certain Republican lawmakers in the State Legislature like former House Speaker/ State Senator J.D. Mesnard (LD 17) will not approve any waver of the cap unless Proposition 208 is stricken from the books.

Commenting to AZ Central, Mesnard said he was not holding school funding hostage, saying:

“Some could look at it as brinksmanship. I look at it as a practical matter.”

He can tell that to the school children and their parents he represents and see if they agree with his assessment.

Reaction to the Looming Crisis

Morgan Dick, the Public Information Officer for the Arizona Department of Education commented late last year on this looming crisis, stating:

“The recent calculations from both ADE and JLBC regarding the K-12 aggregate expenditure limit are not only alarming but will have a devastating effect on our schools and the families they serve. While we await final court determinations regarding what counts toward the expenditure limit, it is crystal clear that the legislature needs to do all it can to provide schools with ongoing sustainable funding. Needless cuts based on archaic policy will severely hamper school districts’ ability to serve students and help them recover from the effects of the pandemic. We need serious leadership and meaningful action from lawmakers so our schools can get on to their critical work of providing safe in-person learning for students in their community.”

Beth Lewis of Save Our Schools Arizona offered:

“It is odious that the AZ Legislature would even consider playing political football with education funding like this in the midst of what has already been such a difficult school year. Playing games with looming budget cuts, staff layoffs, and school closures is unacceptable and Arizona’s kids deserve better. If the Governor and the legislature truly want classrooms to remain open, they will act quickly to waive the outdated cap.”

Rebecca Gau of Stand for Children Arizona commented to the Capitol Times:

“Unless that expenditure cap is dealt with permanently, one way or the other, either increased significantly or done away with, then we’re never going to be able to increase school spending to where it needs to be.”

To AZ Central, she said,“The only reason it’s a question is because it’s become a big political game because of Proposition 208.”

In an interview with Blog for Arizona, Children’s Action Alliance head and one of the leading advocates for Proposition 208 David Lujan said:

“We are going to do everything we can to educate lawmakers and the public about what the spending cap is all about and what that means for Arizona’s public schools if we don’t override the cap…We need to override for this year and we need to reform it for the long term as well. Otherwise this is going to become an issue year after year. That is step one. The other is really just to hold legislators accountable for their actions on this issue. We just did a poll last month (with Save Our Schools Arizona conducted by High Ground) that shows that Arizona voters overwhelmingly support overriding the school spending cap for this year. 73 percent of Arizona voters want to see the Legislature provide an override to the school spending cap… And so we want to make sure that lawmakers know the impacts of school districts and their legislative districts if they don’t do this (pass the waiver…)If legislators are not supporting this, we want to make sure voters know that as well.”

On Republicans like Mr. Mesnard wanting to hold the waiver and education funding hostage if Proposition 208 supporters do not abandon their lawsuit, Mr. Lujan said:

“Well, that’s not going to happen. And they should not be holding Prop 208 hostage. One, it has…it’s irrelevant to school funding for this year because Prop 208 funding, if it’s going forward, will not get distributed to school districts until next school year and it has nothing to do with the lawsuit either. The Supreme Court said very clearly that it does not matter what the State Legislature does this year to the spending limit and how it will impact their decision…It’s inexcusable because the cuts that school districts are facing will be devastating if they don’t act.” 

Please click here to read the report from the Arizona Center for Economic Progress for more information on the crisis and on the impact to schools if the cap is not lifted.

Please click here to read the High Ground Poll Mr. Lujan mentioned.

The Children’s Action Alliance and the Arizona Center for Economic Progress also support a potential voter referendum to permanently do away with the cap.

LD 17 State Representative Jennifer Pawlik has two plans to deal with the Cap.

LD 17 State Representative, member of the House Education Committee, and educator Jennifer Pawlik has two plans to deal with the spending cap issue.

Speaking to Blog for Arizona, Representative Pawlik said that this waiver has been done three times before and that it was important to recognize that the schools did nothing wrong in bringing the system to this financial brink. 

She said her first plan is a “quick fix” that “would be essentially doing is it’s authorizing us to exceed the expenditure this school year only. That will keep the schools from having to cut that $1.2 billion this school year.”

Calling the 1980 expenditure limit “outdated,” Representative Pawlik also has a “long term fix” proposal which is the outright repeal of the expenditure cap, saying “we should provide schools with the money they need to properly educate our kids.”

Ms. Pawlik is very confident every Democrat in the Legislature would sign on and Senator Christine Marsh (a teacher) would introduce similar measures in the Senate.

To date, no Republican has approached Representative Pawlik about cosponsoring her bill.

Noting the legislators only work four days a week, Ms. Pawlik said they only have 49 days to pass the quick fix measure by March 1, 2022. She hopes to have the bills formally turned in by Thursday, January 13, 2022. She also hopes the Education Committee would start considering the bill next week but she was not sure if that would happen.

Moving Forward

It is time for Republicans to stop their war on public schools.

They and the Democrats should work together to pass the waiver on the spending cap at the earliest opportunity so parents know their children have a school to go to after spring break and all the teachers and staff hired for the 2021/22 school year are reassured they are getting paid for the remainder of the semester.