by David Safier
The Yes on Prop 204 campaign has put up an "I am not a special interest" website.
Good stuff. Except for me, children are a special interest. They're very special, and everyone who cares about their future and the future of Arizona should be deeply interested in the education we offer them.
I'm usually tolerant of diversity of opinion, but I draw the line here. Prop 204 is a continuation of a one cent sales tax we're already paying — not a new tax — and it both guarantees more money goes into our schools which are last in the nation in per student funding, and it makes sure the anti-public-education legislators can't cut school funding still further. If Prop 204 goes down, don't act surprised when the legislature takes even more money out of education because "We have no choice. We have to balance the budget."
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I fear the general public does not understand how Prop 204 is necessary because of a very simple and destructive Legislative road block put in place around a decade to go. Goes like this . . . at the heart of the chronic under-funding of Arizona’s public education system is an inability to establish stable revenue sources in the first place. To wit, and Brewer knew this when she pushed for the one-cent increase, the Legislature cannot raise new tax revenue without a super-majority. And we know that ‘s about as likely happen as . . . well, you know , when pigs fly, right? Meanwhile, the Legislature can cut taxes with a simple majority vote. Them’s the rules road, brother, undersigned by the voters of Arizona. BTW, Mississippi has similar hand-cuffs regarding the raising of revenue. No wonder we’re always racing them to the bottom of education funding. But I digress.
To make matters worse, when the one-cent increase was approved by voters, it was coupled with a $500 million/ year tax cut, which goes into effect in June 2013, just when the current one-cent sales tax expires. That means the Leg has to make up that revenue from somewhere else because as far as those Grover Norquist lap dogs are concerned, that $500 million is gone for good. So, as the Arizona economy worms its way through the rabbit hole, that leaves us with a wide, gaping hole in the budget. And we all know their only option is to raid education funds. That’s why the AZ Leg hates 204; it forces them to deal with the absurd revenue system they’ve created.
So when someone tells you they don’t like budgeting via the ballot, remind them that this is the only rational and corrective response to a dangerous flaw in the budgeting process: it’s easier to cut revenue than to raise new sources and years later we’re suffering the consequences for it. That’s what people really need to understand about the importance of 204.
Here’s the link to the Phoenix New Times story if anyone wants to read it before I get around to posting: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/10/the_headmaster_of_a_phoenix.php
Thanks. I just gave it a read. My oh my. A school headmaster who also happens to be Chair of the Board of Arizona Right to Life, saying Prop 204 would fund abortions. Writing the email while at school and listing his title as Headmaster at the bottom. The law is being broken here.
I’ll post as soon as I can. So many posts, so little time!
David – are you following the story of the Great Hearts headmaster who eblasted all of his school’s parents from his charter school email account to share his reasons for opposing 204? The New Times has a good story on it. I cannot for my life figure out how this is not illegal