Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1144159
SUMMER 2019 | ADVOCATE 5 at the capitol T he Arizona Legislature ended the 2019 legislative session on the early morning of May 28, 2019. At a time when our state had a $1 billion surplus, our lawmakers had an opportunity to restore school funding. Instead, they chose to further cut state revenue by enacting nearly $400 million tax cuts. Instead of providing equity and opportunity for all students, they chose to raise the stakes of standardized testing and increase the opportunity gap by putting $70 million into results-based funding. Thank you to the Democrats who introduced amendments to fully restore school capital funding, and provide raises to all school employees, including support staff and those left out of the Governor's narrow definition of "teacher." Unfortunately, the majority party voted down all amendments (Picture above of failed vote on Representative Pawlik amendment to provide raises to all school employees) and continued their attack on educators by passing language from Representative Townsend's #REDforED retaliation bill. Over 200 AEA members and education supporters spent their Memorial Day holiday at the Capitol. Thanks to the hundreds of educators who took part in AEA Budget Watch for the last two weeks in May, we held legislators accountable to their campaign promises and clawed back some of the funds that had been cut during the recession. This legislative session has demonstrated that our elected officials are out of touch with the needs of our students and the will of their constituents. As educators, our students are our number one priority and we will do what it takes to ensure they have the great public schools they deserve. Visit the AEA website at arizonaea.org/budget to view a summary of the K-12 Education Budget. AEA Budget Watch