We aim to develop tools to raise awareness about the education crisis in Arizona.
We will support action at local school, district, and state levels.
We will support action at local school, district, and state levels.
The 2017/18 Program Year in Review |
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Join us on facebook!
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Here’s how we engaged Education Justice in 2017-18:
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Our Networking Partners:
Save Our Schools AZ
Indivisible Sedona
Vail Parent Network
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The Invest in Education Act: Why it is Fair |
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Did You Know?
TEACHERS
STUDENTS
CHARTER SCHOOLS
FUNDING
LOST EDUCATION REVENUE
- A 2017 report shows 2100 teaching jobs remain open. At an average of 35 students per classroom that means about 70,000 students are without a teacher and classrooms are very crowded. Another 3400 classrooms have been filled by people neither trained nor certified to teach. (Arizona Republic, Roberts, 12--19 2017)
- Arizona is 50th in teacher pay, 48th in school funding, 50th in elementary teacher pay, and 48th in secondary teacher pay. (Save Our Schools AZ, 2017)
- Arizona teachers going to Colorado will make $9,630 more, going to Utah will make $11,450 more, going to Nevada will make $12,080 more, going to New Mexico will make $15,360 more and going to California will make $31,540 more. (AEA 10-23-17}
- More teachers are leaving the profession annually then bachelor of education degrees are granted by the three state universities.(Morrison Institute 4-20-17)
- Among Arizona teachers hired in 2013, 42 percent left the profession within three years. (Morrison Institute 4-20-17)
STUDENTS
- More than 50 percent of Arizona children live in low income households, with 26 percent living in poverty. ( Children's Action Alliance Databook 2017)
- Special needs students account for 12 percent of Arizona's school children. The Arizona legislature has not adjusted for these students for a decade. (Arizona Capital Times 10-5-17)
- State investment in Arizona's public schools dropped by 36.6 percent between 2006 and 2016. (Arizona Republic, Roberts 11-30-17)
CHARTER SCHOOLS
- Arizona charter schools spend double or more on administration than do public schools. (Children's Action Alliance report 2017)
- Vouchers pull millions from the state budget from already underfunded schools. (Arizona Republic editorial 2017). The public dollars diverted from public schools through private school tax credits and ESA vouchers have grown from $14 million in 1999 to $253 million in 2018. Furthermore, vouchers give taxpayers no accountability, remain vulnerable to misspending. (AZ Schools NOW website)
- Among AZ charter schools, 56 percent have policies that are clear violations of the law or may discourage the enrollment of some students. Under the Arizona Constitution students have the right to a free public education. 35 charter schools charge fees without giving parents waiver options. ( ACLU "Schools Choosing Students", 12-14-17)
FUNDING
- The Arizona legislature has cut nearly $1.5 billion from classroom resources in the last nine years with 1.1 billion dollars still missing. (Arizona School Boards Association, 12- 7-17)
- State funding for education is down $724 million since 2008. (Children's Action Alliance yearbook 2017)
- The state is now paying $802 less per student than it did a decade ago when factoring in inflation. (Arizona Republic, Roberts 1-1-18). Our students receive 31% less in per-pupil funding than the national average, even though we have some of the highest rates of childhood poverty in the nation. (AZ Schools NOW website)
- In the May 2017 special election, 76 percent of all voters said education funding should be increased. (Arizona School Boards' Association. (8-3-17)
- An Expect More Arizona poll shows education remains the top issue for Arizona voters. The most important issues are: education - 42 percent, illegal immigration - 16 percent, government spending/ taxes - 6 percent, economy - 5 percent. (Expect More Arizona poll 12-20-17)
LOST EDUCATION REVENUE
- The 2011 legislative "Jobs Bill" which provided one-half billion dollars in corporate tax reductions was expensive and highly ineffective legislation. There is no evidence it helped spur Arizona's economic recovery. (Grand Canyon Institute 1-2-18)
- Tax credits now take more than half a billion dollars of state revenues. One of the largest areas has been to subsidize private school enrollment which in 2017 amounted to $150 million. (Grand Canyon Institute 1-2-18)
- Among Arizona corporations, 74 percent are able to reduce their income tax liability to $50 or less. This year's corporate income tax collections are predicted to be the lowest since 1993. (Arizona Center for Economic Progress, 1-4-18)
- The Arizona Department of revenue has laid off 52 auditors and collectors, thus making it easier for tax payers to get away without paying the taxes they owe. (Arizona Center for Economic Progress, 1-4-18)
- Arizona is the only state, when compared to its neighbors, with a net decline in corporate income tax revenue. (Grand Canyon Institute 1-2-18)
- The state needs to spend $1 billion dollars to be in compliance with its constitutional obligation to fund education as well as to restore funding all day kindergarten. (Grand Canyon Institute !-2-18)
- The massive hit to Arizona public schools during the Great Recession included a Legislature slashing of $1.5 billion in funding, the biggest reduction in K-12 monies in the nation. The 2016 voter-approved settlement over inflationary funding, known as Proposition 123, only restored 18 percent of the cuts that had been implemented since 2008. (AZ Schools NOW, 2017)
- Returning to the funding level for education in 2008 will not solve the problem. According to the Legislative Research Commission Compendium of State Education Ranking (Report #370), for the school year 2008, Arizona was ranked 49th per capita of state and local expenditures for all education including higher ed; 51st in expenditures for public K-12 per student by average daily attendance. Note: Includes District of Columbia with all states. (NEA Ranking of States Report 2010). .
- At the same time Arizona is facing a teacher shortage and a 1.1 billion-dollar school funding deficit, lawmakers have continued the trend of cutting taxes and/or increasing tax credits every year but one since 1990. This has cost the general fund more than $2.2 billion in revenues and more than double that amount when adjusted for inflation. (AZ Schools NOW website)
- Our students receive 31% less in per-pupil funding than the national average, even though we have some of the highest rates of childhood poverty in the nation. (AZ Schools NOW website)
- Across Arizona students #Demand2Learn, but many are denied the opportunity because of exclusionary policies and practices in district and charter schools.
Re-Examining the Picture of Arizona K-12 Public Education:
The Skewed PR Campaign -VS- the Complete Picture
"What if I told you there is a state which has added nearly $1.5 billion to the general fund in support of education in the past three years?"
What else should you know:
The Governor's FY2019 budget proposal still leaves AZ public schools short by nearly $1 billion ($952 million) compared to the level of funding in 2008 (We were also ranked in the bottom 20% of states for public education funding in 2008.).1
Over the three year period (FY 2014-2016), more than $420 million of taxable revenue was diverted from the general fund to subsidize private education.2
The $1.5 billion added in the past three years was achieved partially from accelerating the withdrawal from the education trust fund established in the state's early history and designated as a trust fund for long-term support of public education.3 Proposition 123, passed by the voters in May 2016, is a temporary measure to divert about $300 million each year to education from state land trust revenues.
Due to loopholes and special-interest tax cuts, "it is not surprising that 74 percent of AZ corporations are able to reduce their income tax liability to $50 or less." 4
AZ tax credits are growing far faster than the state budget or economy.5
"...the Arizona Legislature since fiscal year 1992 has made numerous changes to the tax code that have eliminated certain taxes, reduced the tax rates of other taxes, and intro- duced numerous tax exemptions and credits. The estimated effect of these changes is a reduction in revenue to the state government’s general fund of $4.41 billion in FY2017. Thus, substantial amounts of additional revenue could be realized simply by rolling back
a portion of the tax cuts that have been put into effect over the last 25 years." 6
"Apart from 2003, the Arizona legislature and governors have reduced tax rates and/or increased exemptions and credits in every year since 1990. In total, the tax changes cost the state over $4 billion each year. Some of the largest tax cuts were implemented in the
last six years when state lawmakers cut over $1.5 billion in annual state general fund revenues." 7
"What if I told you Arizona leads the nation in gains in 4th and 8th grade math and reading proficiency?"
What else should you know:
Arizona schools have increased reading, math and science instruction time by frequently cutting instruction time for other subject areas and recess time. "Across the nation, the testing obsession has nudged aside visual arts, music, physical education, social studies, and science, not to mention world languages, financial literacy, and that old standby, penmanship. In a 2011 national survey, two-thirds of teachers said many academic subjects had been crowded out by an increased focus on math and language arts. About half said art and music were being marginalized, while 40 percent said the same for foreign languages; 36 percent for social studies; and 27 percent for science. The results were particularly striking at the elementary level, where 81 percent of teachers reported that extra time devoted to math or language arts meant less time for other subjects. Over 60 percent of middle school teachers and 54 percent of high school teachers reported the same in their schools." 8
Arizona’s schoolchildren have consistently scored below the national average on the best measure of statewide student performance, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test. Arizona is the only state that showed statistically significant increases in grade 4 and
grade 8 scores in the three content areas of math, reading and science between 2009 and 2015. With the exception of 8th grade math, the scores are still below the national average, but they have been increasing despite the state’s low funding for education. Arizona’s teachers have been doing an admirable job while being in a tough situation.9
Arizona has a high rate of childhood poverty. Nearly 24 percent (23.6) youth under the age of 18 were living in poverty in 2016.10 "In 2014, nearly 1 in 8 children lived in extreme poverty at less than half the poverty level. Children of color in Arizona are disproportionately poor. More than 1 in 3 Black children, more than 1 in 3 Hispanic children, and nearly 1 in 2 American Indian/Native Alaskan children were poor in 2014, compared to more than 1 in 8 White children. Nearly 31,000 Arizona public school students were homeless in the 2012-2013 school year."11
Special needs students account for 12 percent of Arizona's school children. The Arizona Legislature has not adjusted for these students for a decade.12
"What if I told you Arizona has created a Teacher's Academy to help prepare teachers for the state?"
What else should you know:
"The Arizona Teachers Academy, is to provide $1 million of funding in scholarships for free tuition for 200 teachers at one of the state’s three public universities for each year they teach in Arizona. According to Gov. Doug Ducey’s office, the three state universities, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona, are paying for the program through existing scholarship funds and Pell grants."13
"Median pay for Arizona’s elementary school teachers has dropped by 11 percent since 2001. For high school teachers, the decline has been 10 percent. When adjusted for statewide cost-of-living, elementary school teacher pay is the lowest in the nation. High school teacher pay ranks 49th of the 50 states."14
"Increasing Workload – Demands for accountability, coupled with budget cuts that have increased class sizes while curtailing support personnel, have markedly increased the workload for Arizona’s teachers. Teachers say they expect to work hard, but dislike being asked to work harder for less pay."15
Teachers in AZ public schools are fleeing the profession or state with a diminishing pipeline into the profession. "Twenty-two percent of the teachers hired between 2013 and 2015 were not teaching in Arizona after one year. Over one-third of Arizona teachers have been in the class- room for four years or less. Forty-two percent of Arizona teachers hired in 2013 were no longer teaching in an Arizona public school by 2016. Fifty-two percent of Arizona charter school teachers hired in 2013 left within three years." 16
"More than one-quarter of the 8,344 openings for teaching jobs in Arizona for the 2016- 17 school year were vacant as of Nov. 28, 2016. These vacancies were often filled by long-term substitutes or by having existing teachers teach extra classes. Another 27 percent of the openings were filled by those who did not meet the standard teacher requirements. This includes teachers whose certification is pending, and those with interim or emergency certificates." 17
"These problems combine to create a continuing shortage of teachers, leaving schools to scramble to find and keep teachers while denying students the benefits of having a well-trained, consistent presence in the classroom. If unaddressed, the problem could spill out of the classroom and into the economy as Arizona as a whole suffers the long-term consequences of a poorly educated workforce."18
References:
1 Children's Action Alliance. January 2018. http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-01-10-Ducey-education-funding-bar-chart-comparison-explanation.pdf
2 Arizona Department of Revenue, Office of Economic Research & Analysis, June 2017: https://www.azdor.gov/Portals/0/Reports/FY2016%20Private%20School%20Tuition%20Org%20Credit%20Report.pdf, page 2.
3 Children's Action Alliance Policy Brief. August 2015. http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/State-Land-Trust-8-151.pdf
4 The Fair Share Campaign. Arizona Center for Economic Progress. January 2018.. https://www.azeconcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ACEP_FactSheet_FairShareCampaign_LongVersion_P5-Digital.pdf
5 Children's Action Alliance, Policy Brief. January 2018. http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Policy-Brief-Tax-Collections-Not-Growing-Fast-Enough-to-Re-Invest-in-Public-Education.pdf page 3.
6 W P Carey School of Business. Options for Raising State Government Revenue in Arizona. January 2018. https://wpcarey.asu.edu/sites/default/files/revoptions01-18.pdf
7 Children's Action Alliance, http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Policy-Brief-Tax-Collections-Not-Growing-Fast-Enough-to-Re-Invest-in-Public-Education.pdf page 3.
8 The Testing Obsession and the Disappearing Curriculum. NEA Today. Sept. 2, 2014. http://neatoday.org/2014/09/02/the-testing-obsession-and-the-disappearing-curriculum-2/
9 Hunting, et al. Morrison Institute. Mary 2017. Finding and Keeping Educators in Arizona's Classroom. page .
https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/sites/default/files/content/products/AZ%20TEACHERS%20REPORT%202017_0.pdf
10 Kids Count Data Center. http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/6484-children-under-18-years-living-below-the-poverty-levelloc=4&loct=2#detailed/2/any/false/870,573,869,36,868/any/13488,13439
11 Children in the States: Arizona. Children's Defense Fund. http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/data/state-data-repository/cits/2015/2015-arizona-children-in-the-states.pdf
12Arizona Capital Times. October 5, 2017.
13 "Frustration, low pay, stress drive teachers from Arizona" . Arizona Daily Sun. Sept. 30, 2017
14 Hunting, et al. Morrison Institute. Mary 2017. Finding and Keeping Educators in Arizona's Classroom. page 5.
https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/sites/default/files/content/products/AZ%20TEACHERS%20REPORT%202017_0.pdf
15 ibid. page 6; 16 ibid. page 5; 17 ibid., page 8; 18iibid, page 20.
Links to additional resources for reexamining the total AZ K-12 public education 2018 status.
What if we told you the truth about education funding in Arizona?
Save Our Schools. A 30 second YouTube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPqvFg-ks48
Next Steps on Teacher Pay and Student Support.
AZ Schools NOW (one page recommendation) http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-Next-Steps-FINAL.pdf.
"Crisis in Public Education: Teachers, Funding and Why We Should All Care." Video of non-partisan forum presentations by Dan Hunting, Dana Wolfe Naimark, Dr. Jennifer Johnson, and Q&A. January 25, 2018. Online at: https://www.facebook.com/LWVAZ/videos/1664796846920147/
"Finding and Keeping Educators for Arizona's Classrooms. Dan Hunting and associates. Morrison Institute for Public Policy. May 2017. https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/sites/default/files/content/products/AZ%20TEACHERS%20REPORT%202017_0.pdf
Children's Action Alliance Series of Policy Briefs about K-12 Funding Issues:
AZ Tax Collections Not Growing Enough to Re-Invest in Public Education. http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Updated-1-18-Tax-Collections-Not-Growing-Enough-to-Reinvest-in-Public-Education.pdf
Private School Tax Credits Divert Public Dollars for Private Benefits. http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Private-School-Tax-Credit-brief-12-151.pdf
Arizona Schools Count on Proposition 301 Sales Tax. http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Prop-301_final-9-15.pdf
Empowerment Scholarship Account Voucher Expansion: Growing Public Subsidies for Private Schools. http://azchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Return-on-Education-ESA-brief-6-17.pdf
"Following the Money: Twenty Years of Charter School Finances in Arizona". Curtis Cardine and David Wells. Grand Canyon Institute. Sept.. 17, 2017.
Compiled by Joye B. Kohl, EdD, and John W. Kohl, EdD
LWV-NWMC Education Co-Chairs. Feb. 2018
