When Proposition 100 passed last May with an overwhelming 64 percent, Arizona’s parents, students, and educators were offered a glimmer of hope. This bright spot has all but faded with recent news that more cuts to education may be on the way. It seems the legislature wants to burn the base of Arizona’s economy.
The revenue collected from the 1-cent-per-dollar sales tax increase would have funded education and public safety. However, the ballot initiative turned out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
“The way the original version of referendum was worded, was so that the legislature could not cut any more funding to education if the ballot initiative passed,” said State Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe. “The version of the referendum that passed [the legislature] and went to the ballot does not stop the state legislature from cutting any more education funds.”
The state legislature has once again put Arizona’s future in peril. It seemed the voters were putting the state back on track with the passage of Prop. 100. But thanks to a loophole in the wording of the proposition, the state legislature will continue gutting Arizona’s education system. Though, this may have been in the back of people’s minds, its reality summons the severity of the problem.
“Passing the ballot proposition may not have the desired impact because the legislature can still cut money, be it giving corporate tax cuts or spending it in some other way,” Schapira said.
Voters were deceived and misled. In an East Valley Tribune article, Sen. Russell Pearce said the universities “need to take a hit” but the prison system is off limits.
Our state is willing to invest more in people that have broken the law than students that will be Arizona’s future.
These possible cuts are coming on top of the shortfall in projected revenue since Prop. 100 passed. The State Press reported last week that the gap is fairly large, $44 million to be exact. The budget cuts will also seem more severe this year because the University runs out of federal stimulus money at the end of the fiscal year.
According to the Arizona Education Association, Arizona is ranked second nationally in highest student-to-teacher ratio and fastest growing student population. These two do not make a good combination. Class sizes can only get larger if we do not fund education. Students will receive less one-on-one time with their teachers, and the teachers may be spread too thin to operate at their highest level.
The AEA also reports Arizona spent $6,232 per student in 2008, ranking us No. 49 out of 50 in per student spending. This state also places abysmally when it comes to teacher pay; we are ranked 35th with salaries $6,536 below average.
We cannot afford to cut more from education. Our state’s funding is already awful and our students’ performance reflects that. Our state’s economy will be in ruins even after this recession is over nationally, due to our education cuts and lack of a well-educated work force.
“We are hurting ourselves for a generation,” Schapira said. “The cuts we are making now are going to have a generational impact.”
Welcome to the future, folks. A majority of Arizona’s elected officials are embracing a generation that will have went through a poor and underfunded public education system. What was once a bright, sunny spot in the United States will become a patch of scorched earth.
The only way to reverse this course is to make our voices heard in November. It is imperative for students’ pocketbooks and our state’s future that we elect legislators that care about education.
“You have to elect people that care about education,” Schapira said. “You have to elect people that will say we need to cut other places or find other ways to balance the budget instead of on the back of students.”
If we elect another Republican legislature, which seems likely considering the last time Democrats held the State House was 1965 and the State Senate was 1990, our state will continue down the same path we are currently on, funding prisoners, but not students.
Reach Andrew at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu
