Half Way There: The Arizona House Passes a Suspension of the AEL

The Arizona State House of Representatives, in a 46 to 14 vote, secured a suspension of the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) for this year by passing Republican David Cooks HCR2001.

The AEL is the archaic 1980s legal mechanism, that if allowed to be applied in March, would deny traditional public schools the right to spend monies appropriated to them by the State Legislature in the last legislative session.

With this vote, leaders at across Arizona schools are halfway to breathing easier on whether all teachers and staff will get paid and children will not have to worry about attending overcrowded classrooms.

Commenting in a press release following the vote, Democratic House Leader Andres Cano relayed:

“House Democrats applaud the bipartisan passage of this measure and urge the Senate to take immediate action in order to avert school shutdowns on March 1st. Since Day One of this legislature, Democrats have been asking for a simple vote to keep schools open— a month later, we’re pleased to see House Republicans join us to support the one million kids in our public schools.”

PRESS RELEASE: Democrats Again Provide Key Votes to Avoid Catastrophic School Funding Crisis; Urge Senate Action #azleg pic.twitter.com/n43A0U1ExW

— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) February 7, 2023

Ranking House Democratic Education Committee Member Jennifer Pawlik offered:

“We have schools across the state that will have to close their doors or lay off teachers if we don’t pass this cap. It’s absolutely critical. It’s perhaps even more critical in the rural areas, where the schools are the largest employers in the community. I’m pleased to hear that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are willing to talk about a long-term fix. I’m sure that’s something we can work on.”

“Schools across the state will have to close their doors or lay off teachers if we don’t lift this cap.” — Rep. @Jennifer_Pawlik and Democrats deliver key votes to lift the #AEL spending cap to avoid devastating cuts to AZ schools. Senate vote expected Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/n8JMnheXwy

— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) February 7, 2023

Representatives Nancy Gutierrez, Laura Terech, Consuelo Hernandez, and Stephanie Stahl Hamilton also expressed their thoughts on social media, posting:

 

We are voting on lifting the AEL now. Every Democrat has voted YES. We are hearing Reps explain their NO votes based on transparency and saying that districts don’t spend their $ well. This is taking 17% of the budget away. A no vote is robbing schools @AZHouseDems @ArizonaEA

— Representative Nancy Gutierrez (@nancygforAZ) February 7, 2023

Today, I was pleased to vote to temporarily lift the aggregate expenditure limit so that our schools can stay open and spend the funding they’ve been allocated.

— Laura Terech (@lauraforAZ) February 7, 2023

As a school board member, legislator, and someone who cares about education, I was glad to see AEL passed out of the house. Now it goes to the senate. Let’s get this done. Everyone is counting on us. pic.twitter.com/qX9HdJ2DC6

— Consuelo Hernandez (@Hernandez4pima) February 7, 2023

https://twitter.com/stahlhamilton/status/1623061732427177985

Marisol Garcia, the head of the Arizona Education Association also commented on today’s House vote,  stating:

“Our state legislature needs to waive the education funding cap now. If they don’t, schools across the state will be forced to close, and communities, families and businesses will be plunged into chaos, with rural Arizona hit especially hard. Our legislators need to deal with this problem as quickly as possible–failing to waive the cap is simply not an option,” said Marisol Garcia, President of the Arizona Education Association.

“We are grateful to Representative David Cook for his leadership on HCR2001 and to all the state representatives who voted yes. It’s now up to the State Senate to act swiftly and scrap the cap.”

David Lujan of the Children’s Action Alliance also issued several postings thanking the State House for the vote including:

I am happy to see the House voting to lift the school spending limit and I hope the Senate follows suit. I am also happy to hear so many lawmakers calling for a permanent fix because the job is not done. AZ will exceed the school spending limit again next year.

— David Lujan (@DavidLujan) February 7, 2023

It is not a school spending limit, it is an economic growth limit. Because AZ's economy can't keep up with our neighboring states if we are not keeping up with school funding, and the school spending limit will keep us in the basement of funding until there is a permanent fix.

— David Lujan (@DavidLujan) February 7, 2023

It is time to stop playing games with children’s education. The Senate must pass a suspension to the AEL quickly and voters should pass a ballot initiative in 2024 to permanently repeal it.