Fines continue to add up as lawmakers work to resolve the issue of how to fund English-language-learner education.
Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed two Republican-backed English-language-learner bills, which contained corporate-tuition tax credits, late last month.
With these credits, corporations and individuals could get tuition tax credits for donations to private schools, which would divert tax money from public schools.
Napolitano called the bills "especially bad legislation," and said she will continue to keep the Legislature in special session until a compromise can be made.
Rep. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, said the legislators who included the corporate-tuition tax credit in the bill were not showing good faith in trying to resolve the issue.
This added to a contentious climate, she said.
"The governor called a special session, and that was, I believe, to emphasize the importance of this," she said.
The bill, even without the corporate tax credit, does not do what needs to be done, Burton Cahill said.
"I have not had one corporation from my district say they want this, but I have heard them say they want a workforce that is well-educated," she added.
Republican lawmakers did not return calls for comment.
But Mike Jaskie, president of the ASU College Republicans, said he disagreed with the governor's decision.
"She is refusing to work with the Legislature on this," he said. "She is not properly addressing the problem."
Republican legislators have the right idea by encouraging private education, Jaskie added.
"The public education system in Arizona is a complete failure," Jaskie said. "[Students] could use the tax-credit system to go to private schools."
On Jan. 26, U.S. District Judge Raner Collins ordered the state to pay $500,000 a day in fines because funding for English-language-learner programs had not been set by a deadline.
Fines totaled $7.5 million Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
Arizona had been ordered to improve funding for the programs after a judge ruled against the state in a lawsuit that alleged ELL programs were poorly funded.
The $500,000 fines are growing daily and could reach $2 million a day if a proper plan is not in place by the time legislators adjourn.
The vetoed Republican proposal would have increased spending by about $31 million for a year , but after that it would work like a grant program: In future years, schools would have to devote existing funds to ELL programs before asking for help from the state.
Reach the reporter at laura.graham@asu.edu.
