I just want to get down a few scattered, end-of-the-week thoughts about Ducey’s proposal that Arizona dig deeper into the Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund to add $360 million per year to K-12 funding for five years starting in 2017. There are a lot of moving parts in this proposal, and I want to lay out a few of them.
First, unexpected tax money has flowed into the state coffers lately, and some people are saying, “Let’s hold a special session to give some of that to our cash-strapped schools right away.” Ain’t gonna happen. Ducey wants to reduce income taxes to zero — there’s been a carefully orchestrated effort recently to publish some “thoughtful,” even “scholarly,” op eds on the joys of zero income tax to prime the pump—and if Ducey starts off the next legislative session with a surplus, he can use that as an excuse to begin chipping away at the income tax.
Second, a group of business people have said they want a sales tax increase with the revenues dedicated to education, just like the proposed increase Ducey fought against so vigorously a few years ago. Increasing the money from the trust fund could slow the momentum of that movement, something Ducey would far prefer to fighting members of his business base over a tax measure.
Third, Republicans have been trying for years to get permission to sell off parts of the land the state holds in trust to business interests. They always say they want to do it “for the schools,” because who’s gonna say, “We want to sell some of that prime land so our fat cat friends can grow even fatter”? I’m thinking, if they can lower the amount in the trust fund sufficiently, or get schools addicted to using those funds, Republicans will be in a better position to make a case for selling off the most attractive parcels to their friends.
Fourth, the amount Ducey is talking about—$360 million per year — is coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, very close to the amount the courts say the state owes to K-12 schools. Ducey swears the added trust fund money won’t be an excuse not to honor the debt, but who does he think he’s kidding? Of course it will be used for exactly that purpose. You can go to the bank on it.
Fifth, Ducey has a plan to change Arizona’s education funding formula. He wants more money to flow to schools he considers successful, meaning high-scoring schools, district and charter, filled with high-income kids, and away from “failing” schools filled with kids from low income families who are in the greatest need of educational enrichment. A boost in funds will give him cover, since he can throw a few bones to the “loser” schools while he sends steak to schools with his kinda people—all without raising a penny in taxes. Golden!
Finally, Ducey wants his plan to be on the 2016 general election ballot. So, no more money for the 2015-16 school year, and maybe none for the 2016-17 school year unless the money starts flowing in January, 2017, after the year is half over. In the meantime, the underfunding of our schools will continue.
If the governor wants to show some good faith, he should call a special session yesterday and put a big chunk of the projected $300 million in unexpected tax money into our K-12 schools and universities. Say, $150 million for K-12, $75 million for universities, and hold the other $75 million in case the actual revenues don’t meet projections. Then let’s talk about what he wants to give schools a few years down the line.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2015.
It really is amazing that the author isn’t embarrassed by his blatant bigotry and stereotyping. Maybe he has so little respect for the Arizona constitution and how it specifically states that state lands are exactly the method to fund the states education systems or maybe he’s just so blinded by liberal ideology that his reasoning skills are impaired.
Certainly there should be a discussion of whether land should be sold for operational expenses versus capital improvement but does anyone remember the political party of Dennis DeConcini? How many millions and millions and millions did he pocket over CAP right of ways? DEMOCRAT
Or how about the millions that Huckleberry and the Dem controlled board of stupids stole from Pima County taxpayers for Grijalva’s canoa ranch? You could argue that Grijalva really isn’t a democrat, that he’s a full on mexican revolutionary marxist, but you get the point. I realize in Tucson that’s a line that’s easily blurred.
Or how about that really sweet deal that Gabby got for her empty 3 acre lot in downtown. Millions of taxpayer dollars for a grocery store never built. DEMOCRAT
Shall we go on? Southern Arizona’s foundation is corrupt democrats exploiting the taxpayers and illegals.
5th poorest city in the country, and the ‘progressives’ are damn proud of it.
What is really shocking is how these ‘progressives’ as represented by the author, ignore the elephant in the room.
Estimates are that Arizona spends over a BILLION dollars a year educating illegals. Is that how ‘progressives’ display their compassion, by stealing the education dollars from our own citizens, from our own children?
Amazing David, just how you know every inner thought of our Governor. Or are they simply based on assumptions? Republican bad. Democrat good?
That would explain blind support of Hillary Clinton by democratic voters. They refuse to see the criminal in her but can sure point out those waskawy wepublicans.
Weewee David. Weewee.
Typical Safier column … First he cries on every media outlet available how Ducey screws over education in his 1st budget, then cries foul when Ducey makes a concerted effort to create a huge pipeline of funding for schools in this new plan.
You’re a hater, Safier … admit it.
If the new governor is making a well thought out proposal that will elevate the lowly status given our state’s (Kindergarten through University) education efforts as indicated on so many national lists, then let the process begin. But if the actual outcome will be is to enrich those districts that already have an advantage and deprive those most in need of any further support, then we truly deserve our new and increasingly redneck reputation. And if Gov. Ducey really wants “to reduce income taxes to zero,” then he should just eliminate the state’s income tax entirely. Other states do it, but they find other revenue sources like sales’ taxes which also hit the poorest hardest.
This proposal is a joke…well calculated, but a joke none the less. It’s too little, too late. It’s not really a funding initiative, it’s a calculated, partisan move to shore up the Governor’s sinking numbers while “throwing table scraps to the great unwashed”. This isn’t a solution, it’s an argument for pulling life support from a system these fundamentalists despise and don’t want to pay for.
This ALEC funded Koch puppet will not fund education, unless it’s for private for profit institutions owned by his donors. Talk is cheap Ducey, walk the walk. I suspect his walk reaches as far as his over bloated bank account.
Privatization of everything is the goal of the DARK MONEY that Ducey is beholden to. It got him elected, and he knows that if he plays his cards right it will work to get him reelected, or elected to the next office he seeks. So the impetus for selling off state land is nothing more than another part of the DARK MONEY privatization agenda. Throwing in educational funding is nothing more than smoke and mirrors to make it palatable to the masses.
Hopefully Jim N. will soon post a story about the impending layoffs at the University.
Ducey and the Koch brothers want to privatize education, and the best way to do that is to starve public schools of funding. Read today’s NYTimes article about Arizona’s education funding, and it becomes increasingly clear that the ultimate agenda of the Koch brothers through ALEC is to get state governments out of the business of educating our children.
If Ducey has his way and eliminates or greatly reduces the income tax, will he also eliminate property taxes? I’m really asking, not being rhetorical. If sales taxes go up as a counterweight, that effectively means that the goods and services still provided by state government will be funded by a regressive tax. And our schools, what funding remains to them, will be funded by investing the proceeds from the sale of public lands, an arrangement that cannot possibly be in the best interests of the citizens of AZ.
Whatever happened to government of the people, by the people, and for the people? How has it happened that the rich and powerful have become the sole drivers of state and federal governments? I know they’ve always had influence, but since Citizens United, their power and influence have increased exponentially.
Thanks for these thoughts David. I can’t imagine what’s got the first few commenters panties in such a wad–all you did was throw out some of the possible motivations for our esteemed guv’ner to change his mind so radically. After all, it was very recently that he put into effect our new budget which is really REALLY a slash and burn budget for public education, K-12 and beyond. Now all of a sudden he has had an epiphany? (And yet, tellingly, it doesn’t mean he is going to pay back the schools the money he owes them? The guy ought to be in JAIL, just like I would be if I broke the law) Obviously he is getting at something he has always wanted and using education as his excuse, because just as obviously, neither Arizona’s horrendous reputation as close to last in funding and close to lowest in classroom monies actually bothers him or our beloved legislature…for those who can’t quite get it, when you put money into prisons instead of into public schools, you are actually being pretty clear about your priorities. Those little people under four feet tall (elementary school kids) don’t fund your campaign, like those prison owners do. So obvio, its payback time, and Arizona’s reputation, its families and its children be damned. The prisons are obviously the best place for them, according to this governor and his merry band of legislators.
All of which is to say, when the guy wakes up one morning saying Whoa! We’ve got to fund our schools!!! we should ALL smell a rat. Thanks for fleshing out that rat for us.
Just more from the glass is half empty group. So glad I am done with public education.
Nobody is going to prison that hasn’t been tried and convicted of a crime.
Long before this governor entered college, long before the education fund was raided other special tax funds were raided. When the state aviation fund was diverted into the general fund almost twenty years ago the hue & cry among us owners was the same but to no avail. The state gives and the state takes away and while we may not like it all that can be done is to be more diligent about getting the money back. Conversely, advocates such as David should be more even handed about holding EVERYONE accountable. The costly waste of too many administrators. I mean really, how many more decades will TUSD need that deseg money?
David I thank you again. I saw what this was and am appalled that people think all of a sudden Ducey is a different person. The fact that so many right-winged, anti-education people here think it is good is only more evidence that this idea is a bad one. I think this idea has been in his mind as you say for a long time and he is hoping that now when people are so desperate for education funds, they will fall for it. Many other states have fallen for these big ideas that happen to have the funding in education or for education. I just read another blog about Walker (Ducey had a fund-raiser for him here) and a woman was screaming because so many people keep falling for these ‘fix-it’ plans by Walker that force education funds to be depleted. Please Arizona voters, do not buy this for a minute. Ducey may be trying desperately to do something that will help his present unpopularity because of lack of funding for education. There are so many other things he could do and he is not. We need education funded but not by education.
Some here are also following the game plan and mention periodically getting rid of pension plans for teachers. That is part of the playbook also. Please anything that is presented as a great idea for education that is presented by Ducey, and you think it smells, trust yourself. Ducey has no plan or desire to help public education.
I’ll say here what I say elsewhere; you don’t like the message of this governor then it is your fault he is there. The opposition candidate remains a contender because his message didn’t get out well enough. Unless the opposition had a 100% voter turnout they have no one but themselves to blame for the current situation. Blogging is only another form of doing nothing.
The Governor’s plan is not sustainable. Once public land is sold, it is lost and gone forever.
Thomas Jefferson knew the importance of setting aside or creating public/common land for public education. Today’s Republicans have drifted a long ways away from our Founding Fathers.
Once again your devoted column followers got up early to blast you or kiss your words. Reading through I think most just want to make a political point not even addressing the school funding issues.
Arizona is about to go the way of Kansas, today, or California back at the end of the sixties, “Property Tax Limit Days”. The Pima county property taxes, which I support over the highly regressive sales and use taxes are reaching their peak in acceptability.
Pima County has a huge problem with it’s coming “bond election”. People are starting to look at their property taxes and starting to say they have reached the tolerability level. Meaning “No Votes” from otherwise supporters of public services.
A defeat of the County Bond proposal means serious restrictions of County services, with the revenue short state wishing they had budgeted and protected their revenue base better and not rewarded their political financial angels quite as much. Hopefully looking at the state’s budget with eyes open and not continued to be dazzled by money into political campaigns some reasonable solutions will be found.
Subject school funding; cutbacks are leading to teens who don’t graduate, job skills lost and human potential going to waste. Since the Legislature has been on this stupid path of messing over public education from top to bottom or “pre-school to university graduate schools” it is going to take more than the robbing Peter to pay Paul solution Governor Ducey has proposed.
Sucking the life out of the Land Endowment Trust Funds will not solve the problem of funding “so called choice in education” privately owned for profit charter schools or putting more criminals in privately owned prisons for longer terms. The solution to poverty is not incarceration, correctional facilities, or building more private penitentiary space for a few to make profits.
All this talk of “dark money” in politics has had its repayment plan for some time working strange magic on “budget shortages”. It will take several years of wise revenue management for solutions to enable our state to come off the cold bottom of stupid budget decisions that have been made.
Until more people see their responsibility and go vote they will continue to let a few people with narrow objectives make the decisions on the futures of our young citizens. Retired, own a home in a poorly funded school district, just try to sell your home for top dollar.
Arizona’s schools rank near the bottom for per pupil spending – http://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2015/06/03/p…
The Governor and the Republican dominated State Legislature’s complete devotion to the Koch Brother’s agenda of school privatization and no increased taxes will continue to drive Arizona in its race to the bottom. Then they talk about attracting new businesses to the state.. what a bunch of drivel!
I don’t agree with the governors cuts to education , what has happened to higher education here is rediculuos , however if the public continues to see behaviors like that of TUSD with waistful spending and underhanded deals like Grijalva take over of the audit committee people will move away from public education and be stuck with lame plans like this. This is not fair to other districts that have done a good job. Make laws that will allow the public to hold board mbers directly responsible for bad actions emediately instead of waiting for elections, the has to short of a memories , and you will see boards do their job and public education improve to a point where people are proud to have their children in public school again, making it harder for state leaders to attack education. Get rid of the garbage first.
Good points, Brian. For decades it has seemed those most opposed to the extra money are the older among us who feel as you do; that what money IS allocated isn’t spent wisely. The senior administrative and support staffs are probably that could stand a bit of trimming. Likewise the amount of waste that occurs within each school. I will never forget while I was in Flagstaff at my last school job {yes, I was one of those lower echelon directors} seeing a pallet of computer monitors stored outside the entire year I was there. No protection because they were surplus so no one really cared. Tables discarded for minor damage that I salvaged, repaired and put to work elsewhere. One of the reasons the school districts are poor is because they act rich; ie, have a disregard for what is purchased with taxes. They could do more if they were more frugal to begin with.
Yeah…that sounds like it is all on point. As for those who think that we aren’t spending money wisely, like in the “good” old days … those old formulas don’t work because our schools are the same. In the 1970’s, you didn’t teach Calculus or even talk about deep science topics like Quantum Mechanics or Relativity…they do now.
I went to a “big” school in the 1970’s … 800 students in grades 9-12…my kid’s school is almost 3000 for the same 4 grades. Every financial dynamic has to be changed for that many kids in one facility.
A business with 800 employees has a completely different management structure, business plan and budget than a business with 3000 employees.
School will too…except in Arizona…
Douchey has only one goal in mind: privatize as much as possible in this state to allow for him and his cronies to maximize their earning as much as possible. He is not even trying to hide his agenda. The quality of the product maters not at all to him, it is all flash to maximize cash! He is a disaster. I cannot believe I am about to say this this but Douchey makes me long for a return of One Finger Jan to the Governor’s office. I think I am going to puke now. God save Aridzona, obviously we, the people, can’t!