AEA Advocate x Spring 2014 7
AT THE
CAPITOL
Governor's Budget Permanently
Cuts Nearly $240 Million from
Arizona Schools
Governor Brewer's
budget makes education a
low priority for Arizona by
permanently cutting $239
million to school districts,
despite a rebounding
economy and available
revenue, while at the same time
raising expectations on the outcomes of
Arizona's public schools. Read AEA's summary
of the governor's FY14-15 education budget
on our website at www.arizonaea.org/assets/
document/AZ/GovernorBudgetSummary2014.
pdf.
During the economic downturn, Governor
Brewer and the Arizona Legislature suspended
$239 million per year in funding for school
soft capital and school district capital outlay
budgets. These funds address ongoing, student-
centered needs such as classroom materials
and instructional supplies. Last year's budget
combined these costs into a new formula
called "district additional
assistance," but remained
unfunded. The Governor's
budget proposes to permanently suspend this
formula, which would reset the per-pupil level
to a lower amount permanently in statute and
erase all the funding school districts are owed
by the state.
"Simply put, public education is not a
priority in the governor's budget," says AEA
President Andrew F. Morrill. "During the
economic recession, Governor Brewer signed
budgets that cut over $1 billion in education
funding and now that the economy is
recovering, her budget does not restore these
Arizona Retirement Security
Coalition
Teachers, firefighters, paramedics, and other
dedicated public servants are under attack in
Arizona. Public employees have dedicated
their lives to difficult, often dangerous jobs,
and they have played by the rules. The Arizona
Retirement Security Coalition (ARSC) is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting
retirement security for Arizona working families
and educating the public about the positive
aspects of defined-benefit pension plans. AEA is
proud to be a member of this growing grass-
roots coalition.
The risky non-reforms being pushed by
Wall Street and its pet politicians will not help
government budgets or the economy. ARSC
opposes changing those rules in the middle
of the game and taking away the retirement
security that Arizona's working families have
earned. ARSC provides the public and the
media with resources, research and facts about
the true cost of gutting public pension systems
and the extremist agenda that's out to weaken
retirement
security for all
Arizonans.
Join us and
help take a
stand for the
middle class.
We urge you to get the facts and
learn how you can fight back at by visiting
www.azretirementsecurity.com.
Continued on page 30
Continued on page 31
"Simply put, public education is not a
priority in the governor's budget."
— AEA President Andrew F. Morrill
Spring.14advo.indd 7 1/28/14 5:11 PM