Arizona Education Association

Winter 2020

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at the capitol 6 ADVOCATE | WINTER 2020 O n January 13, 2020, the Arizona Education Association (AEA) led a coalition of education supporters in filing a ballot initiative that would raise more than $900 million a year for Arizona public K-12 education if approved by voters in the 2020 general election. "About an hour ago, we filed for initiative the Invest in Education Act, and we are very excited for the opportunity that we get only every two years to put in front of the voters a vision of Arizona," said AEA President Joe Thomas. AEA Vice President Marisol Garcia said her son, Vicente, who has gone through Arizona public schools from kindergarten through eighth grade, has had the same experience as millions of Arizona students. "The state allowing instability and underfunding of his education. He has to be, along with every son and daughter, the priority of this state." Arizona students are falling further behind. Arizona's per- pupil funding is among the lowest in the nation and remains lower than it was before the Great Recession. Our counselor- to-student ratio is the worst in the country. Average class sizes are at record levels. There were more than 1,800 teaching positions with no teachers to fill them at the start of this school year. We cannot wait for this to be fixed; our kids need action. An investment in our students is an investment in our future. It's time to #INVESTinED. Visit investined.com to learn more. INVESTinED 2020 If passed in 2020, the education ballot initiative will: • Fund competitive teacher salaries, training, and certification, so every public school student will have a qualified, certified teacher in the classroom • Improve our worst in the nation counselor-to-student ratio • Provide resources to keep our kids safe at school • Shrink Arizona's record class sizes allowing teachers to give each student the attention they deserve • Focus more attention to career and vocational education • Implement a 3.5% income tax surcharge on excess earnings over $250k for single households and $500k for joint households. This will affect approximately 1% of Arizona residents. In other words, Arizonans making $1,000 a day will pay approximately $11 a day – less than lunch at the office. • Raise $940 million in new, permanent funding for public education by increasing state personal income taxes on the top 1% of earners. • Ensure Arizona's top 1% of earners pay their fair share, while still paying among the lowest state income taxes in the nation even after Invest in Ed passes. The current effective income tax rate of 3.1% (32nd) goes to 4.4% (26th). • Create a permanent, sustainable, and voter-protected education funding source. Current funding mechanisms such as Prop 123 and Prop 301 have expiration dates. Facts About AEA Spring Break at the Capitol Tuesday, March 10 and Tuesday, March 17 SAVE-THE-DATE

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