It's August in Arizona. The
monsoon season signals the beginning of the end of summer; it also marks the
beginning of a new school year.
It is easy to be discouraged by
the education news -- per student spending is the lowest in the nation, Maricopa
County alone has 1000 vacant teaching positions, and our high school graduation
rate is just 75 percent. Our governor continues to fight the voter approved and
court-ordered inflation funding due our schools while advocating for the
building of a new private prison in Arizona.
But there is reason for
optimism. Nearly all Arizonans agree that our state's K-12 education needs more
funding. Most understand the relationship between a well-educated workforce and
a robust economy.
The fiscal year ended June 30
with $458 million in the state's rainy day fund. There is also an extra $250
million in revenue that exceeded budget projections. These total $708 million
real dollars that could be directed to our public schools now.
Another reason for optimism is
that more people understand that the tax credit programs for both private and
public schools are siphoning $190 million from the General Fund that could be
better used in classrooms throughout the state. These tax credit programs offer
taxpayers dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations to private school
tuition funds and to extracurricular programs in public schools.
At the very least, School
Tuition Organizations deserve better scrutiny. The tax credit program they
administer began in 1999 to help poor and disabled students attend private
schools; over the years, the program has expanded well beyond that original
mission. Current state law allows STOs to keep 10 percent of what they raise for
private school tuition, and that is wrong. It has been well publicized that
State Sen. Steve Yarbrough's Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization
collected nearly $17 million in tax-credit donations last year, which means that
Arizona taxpayers paid his STO $1.7 million, just to administer scholarships to
students attending religious-based private schools. Read Editorial in 7/29/15 Arizona Republic.
The governor's plan for
additional K-12 revenue is to tap the state land trust fund, at least
temporarily. It is a complicated, uncertain and inadequate plan, however, and
there are other sources of revenue available now.
As we look to the new
legislative session and the coming elections in 2016, it will be up to us to
keep education funding and the well being of Arizona's children at the top of
our state's list of priorities. Revenue sources are available. There are
different choices to be made. I have faith in Arizona's voters. Given the
opportunity, they will support candidates whose vision includes the restoration
of education funding to levels that ensure all of Arizona's children have the
opportunity to succeed in school and become productive members of communities
across our state.
Thank you for your continued
support.
Rep. Eric Meyer, M.D.,
Legislative District 28
Minority Leader, Arizona
State House of Representatives
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