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.
Here’s how we engaged Education Justice in 2017-18:
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Our Networking Partners:
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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.