Save Our Schools Arizona

(UPDATED) Democrats and Republicans offer Competing Visions at the Opening of the 2020 Arizona Legislative Session

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The first day of any legislative session is always filled with feelings of renewal, goodwill, optimism, and hope. Arizona’s Democrats and Republicans had it in abundance at the opening of the 2019/20 legislative session at the State Capital. However, both sides offered contrasting competing visions for moving the Grand Canyon State. The Republican vision, expressed … Read more

Democrats react to the Republicans sacrificing fully funding Schools and other priorities on the Altar of Tax Cuts.

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As Laurie Roberts of Az Central points out, good legislation did come out of the Arizona State Legislature with regards to measures on giving rights to child rape victims, texting while driving. ELL instruction, AIDs education programs, reforming health care facilities so no more Hacienda horror stories occur, and a much-needed drought plan with neighboring … Read more

Mark Finchem, the master of condescension

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As one of LD11 ‘s Representative Mark Finchem’s constituents, I’m thinking he largely penned today’s shared op-ed in the AZ Daily Star titled “Bills see to improve oversight of education vouchers”, and asked Senator Sylvia Allen (AZ Senate Ed Cmte Chair) to give it some credibility by lending her name to it. His attack on the Save Our Schools Arizona folks as “lobbyists” is soooooo “him”. Give me a break. They are grassroots advocates led by a group of moms who were sick and tired of being ignored by school privatization zealots like Finchem. Their movement caught fire over the last couple of years because it was obvious they actually were/are “in this to help our children”.

Contrary to what Finchem would have you believe, they and other public education advocates don’t argue for a lack of choices for parents. In fact, public education advocates and education professionals work hard to ensure our district schools offer an increasingly wide variety of programming to appeal to our diverse student population. This has been one of the good impacts of open enrollment and charter schools which have been providing choice since 1994.

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Allen Sales Tax Plan to help fund Education is deemed “regressive” by many Democrats.

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Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said work needs to be done to “find sustainable and dedicated revenue streams to fund our schools.”

Education funding after last years Red for Ed Movement will continue to dominate discussions in Arizona Political and Economic Circles this year and next.

While the 20 percent raises for instructors and staff over two years and other increases in education funding  (like extending Proposition 301) passed by the legislature are certainly helpful, it still does not fully address the funding shortfall of public schools in Arizona in 2019. For that matter, it does not rectify the funding shortfall at 2008 levels.

What is to be done to bring public school funding up to 2019 levels?

Governors Ducey’s 2019 budget, according to Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman is a step in the right direction but work must be done to “find sustainable and dedicated revenue streams to fund our schools.”

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Tyranny of the Majority at the Arizona House of Representatives

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A House Committee Hearing on Education was scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Monday, January 28. It did not start at 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m.

Instead, the people who gathered to attend the hearing (many of whom were members of Save Our Schools Arizona)  were treated to a different educational experience by either watching the House of Representatives session on  ACTV or taking the elevator to see the proceedings on the third-floor gallery.

They were able to witness the Arizona House Republicans demonstrate what tyranny of the majority looks like by attempting to ram through new rules (some of them changed for the first time in 72 years)  for the legislative session, some of them designed to stifle and reduce debate.

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