By 8 a.m. this morning, and after nearly 24 hours of debate, the state Legislature passed a $9.1 billion state budget that still greatly screws over universities, but that at least is giving some funds to community colleges and scratched a mandate to K-12 schools asking to cut 5 percent of their non-classroom money.
Universities are losing $99 million instead of the $104 million we heard of earlier this week, Joint Technical Education Districts are getting $30 million in cuts. Pima and Maricopa community colleges lost all state aid—a combined $15.6 million in cuts—while Pinal will get $2 million.
This is what state Sen. Steve Farley had to say about K-12 in his Farley Repor:
K-12 schools will suffer from a $352 million cut in district assistance and other areas, and TUSD is singled out for another $17 million hit starting this coming fiscal year, which will be shared by Pima County, likely leading to higher property taxes for Pima County residents along with cuts. The exact portion of the cuts/tax hikes will be apportioned by an unelected Property Tax Oversight Committee based in Phoenix. The inflation funding lawsuit settlement, which the courts have set at around $332 million, was funded at only $74 million. And $900 million in K-12 rollovers remain, a budgeting gimmick used years ago that has still not been paid back. This means that public schools are receiving their state funds not in advance, but as reimbursement — 90 days in arrears.
Many state lawmakers said the decision was rushed and carried out without much opportunity for public input.
Democratic state Rep. Eric Meyer of Paradise Valley released this statement:
“The Republicans made sure the budget process was quick and provided little opportunity for public comment. Despite this effort, hundreds of teachers, students, parents and concerned citizens came to the Capitol to deliver a clear message. This budget is bad for education and jeopardizes our economic stability.
“Instead of listening to the people they represent, Republicans have chosen to perpetuate the education funding shell game which prioritizes special interest tax cuts and corporate giveaways over the needs of middle-class families. They’re slashing more than $100 million from higher education. Those cuts include eliminating all state support for the largest community colleges. These policies are irresponsible and shortsighted. Without a solid education and access to affordable higher education, Arizona kids won’t be ready for 21st century jobs.
“I encourage the governor to listen to what the people of Arizona are saying and to veto the budget. There are other options; balancing the budget does not require us to mortgage our future.”
Gov. Doug Ducey is thrilled with the budget, and has said it represents “99 percent” of what he has proposed in January.
“The people elected us to get the job done and that’s what we’ve done. We’ve passed a balanced, bipartisan budget that prioritizes wisely, protects our most vulnerable and restores Arizona to a structurally-balanced budget by fiscal 2017. If we want to see meaningful and lasting improvement in our schools and economy, government must start living within its means and practicing fiscal responsibility. We recognize that families, businesses and taxpayers do this every day. This budget reflects my commitment to representing Arizonans – not special interests. I want to thank the Legislature, especially the leadership of President Biggs and Speaker Gowan, for working diligently to get this done for the people of Arizona. This is a budget that reflects our state’s priorities and for that we should all be proud.”
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2015.
These are discussions we need to have. Relax and find something positive after all your rash reactions.
Hmm.
“By 8 a.m. this morning, and after nearly 24 hours of debate….”
“Many state lawmakers said the decision was rushed and carried out without much opportunity for public input.”
News flash, you don’t have to swarm the capital building to have your voice heard. A phone call or email to your favorite legislator works just as well… unless of course, you’re playing for the TV cameras.
Or…just stay home and keep your mouth shut. The process of transforming all public education to for-profit corporations is nearly complete.
Ducey=delusional. Live within our means? What a disgusting joke. A “ram it down their throats before anyone finds out”, budget process. Amendments no one has read flying fast and furious at 4:00am. Members holding out threatened. Ducey’s office browbeating reluctant GOP legislators, let along any Democrats. If local government cities, counties and school districts did budgets like this, Biggs would be screaming for their removal. Transparency? Nonsense. Live within our means? Liar.
Now it sounds like you’re describing what Obama Pelosi and Reid did to us with our healthcare. Maybe you deserved it.
What in the hell are you talking about David? They deliberated on the healthcare for MUCH longer than 24 hours. It was in the news for weeks! And it wasn’t passed as it should have been, it was slashed and rehashed, amended over and over, until it was passed. And it has had wide approval from the public since its implementation, on both sides.
That is exactly the opposite of what happened here. Remove your head from your own ass and find out what is actually happening in the world, will you?
I just finished writing e-mails to my two legislators expressing my dismay, disgust and disappointment over the budget and their vote. Join me, write your legislator.
What a nice lot of blokes you are. I had to wait until Gov Dicey told me his budget included $600 Million for universities.
Ia that all We get for our money?
What a nice lot of blokes you are. I had to wait until Gov Dicey told me his budget included $600 Million for universities.
Ia that all We get for our money?
The last I heard was universities(all together) got 75 M and community colleges nothing. Supposedly k-12 money was restored however no money actually paid back on huge debt that is owed education… money just shuffled around. I still can’t figure out why this isn’t a criminal offense. I will not stop my activism. Every day last week I asked and read what the budget looked like and I got a different answer from different people. There has been absolutely no transparency and from my experience, an outright attempt to deceive.
Education is the solid foundation of society that enables all people to better their lives as well as improving society. Without community colleges funded, many will be unable to do this. This is keeping poorer people poor…. which it sure seems like is the goal.
Clarification: PCC and Maricopa Community Colleges got NOTHING. Pinal Community College escaped the total axe as a means to reward its senators for supporting the total budget. Most community college students in the state are located in these two counties. These schools are vital for developing fast moving, quickly available training opportunities at reasonable cost for job creation and improved earnings by workers. Recall please that all community colleges were originally proposed for some cuts with PCC and MCC to get 50% cuts. Now it is 100% cuts where most of the people are.
You don’t need to be a psychic to see lawyers getting paid because of a lawsuit over this fiasco. It’s like the Republicans in the State Legislature want to spend the entire General Fund paying lawyers’ billable hours.
@Michael S. Ellegood – you have 3 legislators.
It’s one thing to go into Governor Godfather mode on the Universities, but damn, to just rip up a blank check and toss it in the trash for Community Colleges.
This clown is looking to put that “saved” money into his pockets later down the road. This is not Chicago, we don’t stand for this.
Here is a summary of the final budget courtesy of Steve Farley state senator, just in case somebody thinks we are being ‘rash’. There is no other word that works except devastating.
> Cuts to hospital and provider rates for those providing care to Medicaid / AHCCCS patients total $127 million over two years which mean a loss of another $508 million in federal matching funds from Arizona’s economy over that time. More than a half-billion dollars will leave the Arizona economy and go to some other less ideological state. This requires a Federal waiver. If that does not happen, the budget will be unbalanced.
–> K-12 schools will suffer from a $352 million cut in district assistance and other areas, and TUSD is singled out for another $17 million hit starting this coming fiscal year, which will be shared by Pima County, likely leading to higher property taxes for Pima County residents along with cuts. The exact portion of the cuts/tax hikes will be apportioned by an unelected Property Tax Oversight Committee based in Phoenix. The inflation funding lawsuit settlement, which the courts have set at around $332 million, was funded at only $74 million. And $900 million in K-12 rollovers remain, a budgeting gimmick used years ago that has still not been paid back. This means that public schools are receiving their state funds not in advance, but as reimbursement — 90 days in arrears.
–> Community colleges in Pima and Maricopa Counties are zeroed out completely from state funding. Pima College Chancellor Lee Lambert called this “irreparable.”
–> Universities are cut $99 million in FY16, with UofA’s portion $28.4 million.
–> JTED programs are cut by $30 million in FY17, despite the pleas of 35 JTED students from Andrada Polytech High School in Vail, who drove up Friday morning and stayed watching in the gallery until 2am when they drove back home. Their school — and many others — may be closed by these cuts and the students’ careers are in danger.
–> $1 million was taken from a fund for consumer protection in the Attorney General’s office and given to a new Division of Federalism which is charged to find ways to sue the Federal Government.
–> Cities and counties received more raids — they will now have to pay for collection of sales taxes and juveniles in state prisons, although they will be able to bid against the private prison companies to provide 1,000 extra male medium security prison beds in 2017.
–> Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), cash assistance to mothers in desperate economic straits (often fleeing from domestic abuse) was cut to a 12-month lifetime limit — the harshest limit in the US — although currently the average length of claims is only 14-15 months. Those cuts may put more women and families in danger of destitution.
–> $10 million in cuts to the Department of Child Safety remain despite 16,900 kids currently in state care, and the backlog of cases rising, not falling.
–> Arizona arts funding is again zeroed out after two years of being funded at $1 million a year.
–> $360 million is left untouched in the Rainy Day fund. Is it raining yet?
–> and there was still no discussion (except from me) of suspending the remaining $675 million in corporate tax giveaways that will go into effect in the next three years or the $12.6 billion that disappears annually in special interest sales tax loopholes. The money is there, but the majority chooses to cut vital services instead of asking corporations to pay their fair share.
Although we Democrats (joined by Republicans Steve Pierce and Jeff Dial) knew we would lose this vote, it was heartening to see members of the public sticking it out with us in the gallery.
Gallery.jpg
During one amendment wherein we were trying to add a provision fully funding inflation for K-12 schools, the voice vote was called against us and we called “division”, a move whereby we force a vote count — those for the amendment stand and are counted, then those against. When we Democrats (minus Begay) on the floor stood, I heard the sound of 50 chairs in the gallery folding up — I turned around and discovered that everyone in the gallery had stood up with us. I was so moved and energized by that show of solidarity that I was never even tempted to sleep for the rest of the night.
This budget was opposed by nearly everyone. I received thousands of email against, and only five in favor. 56 people had signed in against the bills during the one and only public hearing — Appropriations Committee on Wednesday night. One person signed in against — a member of one of the dark-money organizations that funded Governor Ducey’s campaign. And that person wasn’t present to testify.
The business community took a gutsy stand, with the notable exception of the tax-cut-addicted Arizona Chamber. All other major business organizations–including Tucson Metro Chamber (whose Republican leader Mike Varney called the budget “draconian”), Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Tucson Hispanic Chamber (led by Ducey’s campaign cochair Lea Marquez Peterson), Flagstaff 40, Greater Phoenix Leadership, and Greater Phoenix Chamber–came out against the budget’s education cuts.
They were rebuffed by a Ducey administration which seems set on reading the Koch Brothers’ Scott Walker-esque script regardless of how many Arizonans it offends, conservative or otherwise. Perhaps they feel that their path to continued success involves keeping happy only the out-of-state anti-government dark money funders who bankrolled his campaign in the first place.
The most surreal event from this whole surreal weekend was Governor Ducey’s press release, the most creative example of Newspeak since George Orwell wrote 1984. In it he claims:
–> That it was a “bipartisan balanced budget”. [Only one Democrat voted for it in exchange for two favors for his district. The balance depends on an iffy federal waiver and a settlement of the K-12 inflation lawsuit in the Legislature’s favor. If these two things are removed, the budget is nearly $500 million in the red.]
–> That the budget “protects classrooms and child safety and essential services for vulnerable populations” [by slashing school funding at every level, $10 million from the Department of Child Safety, capping TANF benefits, cutting prevention services and affordable childcare, and
–> That he had provided more funding for K-12 than ever before [ignoring that we are educating more students than ever before, and funding them at lower levels than ever before].
–> That “schools will have more than $10 billion including state, federal, capital, and local funds” [ignoring that state funds are now at a record low and falling, making us last in per-pupil spending among the states].
–> That the budget “includes more than $600 million in general fund dollars for universities; 7% of the general fund” [while ignoring that general fund was $1.1 billion seven years ago with 30,000 fewer students representing 11% of the general fund].
–> That he “protected rural community colleges from reductions” [while he eliminated state funding from community colleges in Pima and Maricopa Counties].
Governor Ducey’s priorities as demonstrated in this budget are clear and in lockstep with the priorities of the current Legislative majorities and their out-of-state funders. Give away taxpayer money to large corporations, slash public education, JTEDs, community colleges, and universities, chop away at the safety net, and let our infrastructure crumble.
https://www.change.org/p/arizona-voters-re…
Link to one of 3 petitions for recall…. 2 on Facebook and 1 off. We will turn this around.
Funny, nobody tells Robin that she ought to start her own blog. You folks are so superficial.