Recent headlines proclaim teachers are “fleeing”
the state “in droves,” and pay is a
frequently cited reason why.
In an interview
with KJZZ, a Mesa Public School teacher and the Arizona Education
Association vice president recently said that he’s heard teachers say that they
can’t afford to teach here and “districts in other states are recruiting because
they know the crisis that we are having.”
The
Phoenix Business Journal reported last month that Arizona spends the least
amount of money on teacher pay in the country, and Arizona is also at or near
the bottom of national lists for classroom instruction spending, per pupil
spending and school administration spending.
If we continue to divest in education our spending
won’t be the only thing at the bottom of the barrel, so will our students’
potential. As President of the Phoenix Union High School District board I see
firsthand the tough choices that need to be made as the state has slashed
billions over the last few years.
- Lower test scores - “The more money invested, the higher the test scores,” said ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy Senior Policy Analyst Dan Hunting.
- Increase in classroom sizes - a former Phoenix Elementary School District governing board member said in a recent interview that the state budget cuts meant schools had to increase their classroom sizes and freeze teacher compensation.
- Student safety impacted - some schools could have to scale back facilities maintenance, security guards and shared nurses.
With so much at stake, why aren’t Republican leaders
investing more in education now? We can’t afford to wait.
