Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/477223
AEA Advocate | Spring 2015 11 are unaware of the deeply felt impact of the decisions and cuts made to education." Dr. Paul Tighe, superintendent of Mingus Union High School District which serves 1,211 students in Yavapai County, said he worries poor funding will negatively impact the state's economic prosperity. "The quality of education directly impacts economic growth and property values, not to mention the future of our nation, Tighe said. "Arizona will not be able to attract businesses beyond tourism without a quality education system." Arizona's current per student K-12 funding adjusted for inflation is 17.5 percent lower than it was in Fiscal Year 2008 before the Great Recession began, or about or about $663 less, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report "Most States Still Funding Schools Less Than Before the Recession," released in October 2014. "If Arizona funded an equivalent of the national average per pupil, Arizona's classroom percentage would far exceed the 61 percent goal set by the governor," said Eugene Dudo, superintendent of Glendale Union High School District, in a letter to parents this week. Arizona ranks third in the nation for the steepest cuts in K-12 per student spending, behind Alabama with 17.8 percent and Oklahoma with 23.6 percent, the report noted. "Arizona is already nearly at the bottom of education (funding) and if these funding cuts happen I would be willing to bet we will secure our position in last place," Kistner said. The governor's proposal to reduce non- classroom spending by five percent means districts need to look at cutting guidance counselors, transportation, librarians, nurses, security guards, speech language pathologists, behavior and occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, school administration, food services, utilities, department chairs, bookstores, technology, payroll, human resources, and school maintenance. Most people are surprised at what is considered non-instructional, said Tighe, who recently made a presentation to the House Education Committee about the impact of cuts since 2008. "Under the governor's proposed budget, our capital obligations will exceed our capital allocation, meaning we will either have to default on our debt and lease payments or inappropriately take instructional dollars (M&O) to pay these payments," Tighe said. "The bottom line is there is no way we can make these cuts without impacting students, programs, and staff." The governor's proposed budget does not include the $330 million in inflationary increases to reset base-level per-pupil funding that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper has ruled Arizona's public schools are due, but rather the amount the Arizona Legislature has said they believe is owed public schools. In a recently released poll, 74 percent of Arizonans say the state spends too little on K-12 education. Also, 62 percent of Arizonans say they would be willing to be taxed an additional $200 per year to help improve Arizona's public education system, according to the poll by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Of those who said they were willing to pay more taxes to help education, 53 percent are Republican, 65 percent are Independent and 75 percent are Democrat. Many schools like Mesa Public Schools, have posted information about the proposed budget changes on their website, along with videos and links for community members to contact their elected representatives. n