BUSINESSES SHOULD STAND UP FOR SCHOOLS, OFFICIAL SAYS

posted by Michael Chihak

Arizona businesses got the Legislature to slow down on its continuing anti-immigration push by saying that it was hurting the business climate.

They should do the same for education, Chuck Essigs said. Essigs is governmental relations director for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials.

"Until the business community makes a stand for education, it has no chance of making a change," Essigs said in an interview for Friday's Arizona Week.

Essigs said he has been in touch with school officials from around the state and described them as "disappointed" over a third straight year of significant budget cuts. This year's reductions, signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer on Wednesday, total $183 million and bring the 3-year-total for all education to more than $1 billion.

Arizonans have shown a willingness to tax themselves for educational improvement, having done so last year in passing Proposition 100, which increased the sales tax for three years to bolster education funding, Essigs said.

Calvin Baker, superintendent of Vail School District in suburban Tucson, said in a separate interview for Arizona Week that the cuts represented a "bait and switch" pulled on voters who expected more funding for education.

Watch their interviews and commentary from a panel of journalists on Arizona Week Friday at 8:30 p.m. MST on KUAT-TV 6 in Tucson and at 10:30 p.m. MST on KAET-TV 8 in Phoenix. Or watch the program online at www.azweek.com

AZ HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMEN CUT FROM VOC ED

posted by Michael Chihak

Pima County's Joint Technological Education District will eliminate high school freshmen enrollment in the next school year because of state budget cuts, JTED officials announced Wednesday.

JTED is the 21st century version of vocational education, intended to provide academic and job skills to high school students. JTED enrollees can take curriculums in culinary arts, agrisciences, automotive technologies, nursing, construction trades, firefighting, early childhood education and a host of other programs.

Knocking freshmen out of the program next school year will mean at least 7,100 fewer students enrolled in Pima County, JTED officials said in a press release. It said the program's budget will be $3 million less than what it was in 2008, when it had half the enrollment it does today.

The JTED program was approved by Pima County voters in 2006 and has been expanding ever since.

JTED Superintendent Alan Storm said in the press release that the cuts will hurt not just the students but local businesses that depend on being able to hire skilled workers.

The cuts are expected to result in layoffs of JTED employees, but the number has not been determined.

MOST MONEY SPENT IN CLASSROOM; NOW WHAT?

posted by Michael Chihak

Vail School District Superintendent Calvin Baker will be on Arizona Week Friday to discuss school funding in the wake of the state Legislature's passage of next fiscal year's budget.

Baker's district runs with great efficiency and effectiveness. The state Auditor General's report says Vail spends a greater percentage of its money in the classroom than other school districts. Nine of its 15 schools are rated "excellent" under the federal No Child Left Behind system; the other six are rated at "performing" or "highly performing."

Certainly Vail's performance, both fiscally and educationally, can be attributed to superior administration, management and teaching. At the same time, the dollars make a difference. So what is Vail to do in light of the state Legislature's budget action last week?

Legislators cut state funding for public schools by $183 million. While legislative leaders called it a relatively small amount -- 3.6 percent of total K-12 funding, House Speaker Kirk Adams said -- it is 5 percent of state general fund money.

In addition, it comes on top of an 11.6 percent reduction in state general fund money in fiscal 2009-10. And that came on top of an 8.3 percent decrease in state general fund money in fiscal 2008-09.

In short, state general fund allocations for K-12 public schools have gone down 19 percent in three years. That's expected to be reflected in per-student state funding, which this school year is down 19 percent from its historic high two years ago and will be down more next fiscal year.

We will ask Baker what changes he must make in how Vail schools operate and whether the district's record of excellence will be jeopardized as a result of the state funding cuts.

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.

ALL'S QUIET ON THE BUDGET FRONT -- UNTIL TODAY

posted by Michael Chihak

The Arizona Senate passed and sent to Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday a series of budget bills that put into place much bigger cuts in education than Brewer wanted. So far, there's been no comment from the governor, who had said in the last two weeks she was standing fast to preserve educational spending.

Her budget, introduced in January, called for $170 million in cuts for the three state universities, $71 million in cuts for K-12 and about $73 million, or half the state allocation, in cuts for community colleges.

Did she stand fast on those cuts and preserve educational spending? You be the judge.

The final budget heading for her desk Friday has $198 million in university cuts, $183 million in reductions for K-12 and $73 million less for community colleges.

Democrats were quick to criticize the governor.

"If (Brewer) was working to protect education, she failed," Senate Minority Leader David Schapira said.

"Gov. Brewer has failed. She has failed to stand up for education," Rep. Daniel Patterson said.

AZ CITIZENS SHOULD HEED REDISTRICTING PROCESS

posted by Michael Chihak

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission is little understood by the average citizen, most especially how to have influence, two redistricting experts say.

They said the system, approved by Arizona voters in 2000 as n amendment to the state constitution, minimizes partisanship in drawing district boundaries and can be even better at that if citizens take part in the process.

Adolfo Echeveste, a Tempe resident who was first executive director of the commission serving from 2001 to 2008, said in an interview for Arizona Week that a key strength of the system is that it "minimizes partisanship." At the same time, he said, there needs to be more transparency in the entire process, including on the committee that screens nominees for the five-member commission.

The commission is made up of two Republicans, two Democrats and an independent voter, who serves as chair. Legislative party leaders name the four partisan commissioners, and those four in turn select the independent chair.

Echeveste and Jennifer Steen, a political scientist at Arizona State University, said in separate interviews for Arizona Week's Friday program that they think the average Arizonan needs a better understanding of the process.

Participation at public hearings and in other ways will help citizens to have an influence on the way voting districts are drawn.

Conflicting criteria, including making districts competitive while at the same time maintaining "communities of interest," make the task more difficult.

Additionally, Echeveste and Steen said, the rise of independent voters in Arizona makes the competitiveness, usually described as Republicans vs. Democrats, more complicated. Independents in Arizona now outnumber Democrats and are gaining on Republicans.

Their interviews and commentary from journalists may be viewed on Arizona Week Friday at 8:30 p.m. MST on KUAT-TV Channel 6 in Tucson, and at 10:30 p.m. MST on KAET-TV Channel 8 in Phoenix. The program also will be available at www.azweek.com Friday evening.