K-12 FUNDING CUTS: LET'S DO THE MATH

posted by Michael Chihak

Teachers in Pima Unified School District in eastern Arizona clean their own classrooms at day's end because there aren't enough janitors, according to a March 20 story in the Arizona Republic. The alternative? Teacher layoffs and bigger classes.

Look for similar steps across the state in the coming school year as public schools strive to absorb a third straight year of significant funding cuts from the Arizona Legislature and the governor.

Gov. Jan Brewer in January proposed K-12 funding cuts of $80 million for next school year and said she would hold fast to that. The state Senate increased the cuts to $235 million. The state House reduced them to $183 million; the Senate went along. Brewer said the cuts really were only $148 million because of other available money. She called that "successful."

All sides are using numbers to defend their points of view. One Republican legislator said the cuts amount to a mere $300 a year per student. House Speaker Kirk Adams said the total cut to public school funding is 3.6 percent, which isn't much. Educational support organizations say it's the third straight year of such cuts, and the cumulative effect could knock some school systems over the edge.

Arizona Week on Friday will explore the numbers to try making some sense of them, including taking a look at how they will affect the average student in the classroom.

We will talk with sources knowledgeable about the numbers, knowledgeable about the politics behind school funding and those who know what's going on in the classroom.