G.I.: More education cuts on the horizon

by David Safier

Call this a red letter day. I'm going to quote something written by one of the high paid folks at the Goldwater Institute as a source, rather than ripping it to shreds.

Byron Schlomach, director of G.I.'s  Center for Economic Prosperity (Don't you love the straight-out-of-"1984" name of the Center?), says we're certain to need more money than the state has to fund education at its currently budgeted level.

He quotes Russell Pearce to back up the claim.

“I don’t know how you avoid additional cuts to education, to be honest,” said Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa), chairman of the state Senate Appropriations Committee. “We come back [into session] in January with a potential billion dollar deficit,” he said.

But isn't Jan Brewer running on successfully balancing the budget? Schlomach makes it sound like John Arnold, director of Brewer’s own Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, questions whether the budget is balanced and sees cuts on the horizon, though he won't say so directly.

John Arnold, director of Brewer’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, declined to talk about the possibility of cuts in public education.

“Until the risks materialize, it is difficult to talk about specific solutions,” he said.

Arnold seemed to suggest Arizona’s $950 million in appropriations to universities was most at risk.

“On a national level, there is an ongoing conversation about how Medicaid reforms have put Medicaid funding in direct competition with university education funding,” he said.

Folks, when it comes to cuts to education and other government programs, you ain't seen nothin' yet, if we elect Brewer and give the rabid Republican legislature a free hand.

Naturally, G.I. has a solution to this problem. It's easy. Just sweep $125 million from the “Growing Smarter” program and another $325 million from First Things First. That requires passage of Props 301 and 302 which will come up in November.