Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/610158
12 ADVOCATE | WINTER 2015/16 Steep cuts increase number of districts calling for bonds, overrides The number of school districts asking local taxpayers for assistance funding district public schools through approval of bonds and overrides this year is up 150 percent since 2008, from 20 to 50 of Arizona's 238 school districts. The impact of steep cuts in state funding from 2008 to 2012 were cited by many of the school boards that called for the measures, which appeared on the November ballot for voters in 21 percent of Arizona's school districts. The Arizona Legislature cut per-student funding by 17.8 percent from 2008 to 2012, according to a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report released in October 2014. "Twenty-nine years ago when I started teaching in Gilbert I was surrounded by a wealth of knowledge from experienced veteran teachers that nurtured and helped me develop my teaching skills," says Gilbert Education Association President Diane Drazinski. "Today, the new teachers entering our district are not granted the same oppor- tunity. Veteran teachers are leaving Gilbert for districts that pay a respectable wage, maintain reasonable class sizes, and fund co-curricular programs that facilitate student learning. Gilbert teachers are continually re- quired to do more with less. While class sizes increase, the staff and budget continually decrease; this is not a formula for success. A "YES" vote on both ballot measures will have the effect of halting and ultimately reversing these trends. Gilbert Public School will once again be the district teachers want to work for and not run from." at the capitol What You Need to Know about Bonds & Overrides