Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1503521
AT THE CAPITOL 6 ADVOCATE | SUMMER 2023 Here's what you need to know: • Governor Hobbs has a veto stamp – and she isn't afraid to use it. She has vetoed more than 100 pieces of legislation, including bills that would have banned books, censored history lessons, and made it easier to bring guns onto school campuses. She's also vetoed multiple attacks on LGBTQ students, including a bill that would have banned educators from using the preferred pronouns of trans youth without written parental permission. • is year's state budget includes new funding for public schools—which means new raises, stipends and benefits for educators. In May, Arizona added $300 million in new one-time funding for K-12 public education and $341 mil- lion in one-time funding for school facilities, as well as $89 million in ongoing funding. Our state legislature also waived the school funding cap (also known as the Aggregate Expenditure Limit or AEL) for next year, giving districts confi- dence that they can actually spend the money they've been appropriated. • Tax cuts for the rich passed in 2021 are cutting into our state's revenues– making it that much harder to fund our schools. ese tax cuts, passed by Gov- ernor Ducey and the Republican-controlled legislature in 2021, are now costing our state $183 million more than projected. • Vouchers are a major threat to public education–and everything else that Arizonans care about. Our state's out-of-control voucher program is on track to cost $900 million this year. at's money that should be going towards schools, roads, healthcare, housing and all the other things that our state needs. We're gearing up for some big fights over the coming months. Right now, our state legislature is controlled by far-right politicians who care more about their campaign donors and lobbyists than about Arizona's students. With this legislature, repealing tax cuts for the rich and the out-of-control voucher program is going to take serious organizing. But as we saw during Red for Ed, educators are an incredibly powerful force when we come together. Start talking now to your friends, family, and fellow educators and help us build the power we'll need to win! Vetoes, Vouchers & More 2023 has been a busy year at the Arizona Capitol. Vouchers will cost the state $900 million this year alone—funding that should be going into our K-12 public schools. Vouchers were first created aer the Supreme Court banned school segregation in Brown v Board of Education. School districts used vouchers to enable white students to attend private "segregation academies," which could limit admission based on race. ere is almost no accountability in how private voucher dollars are spent, leading to waste, fraud and abuse. Recent investigations show that significant amounts of money are going to personal expenses for families – things like trampolines, kayaks and sword fighting classes. Our public schools serve every student, regardless of who they are. But although private voucher schools take public funds, they're allowed to discriminate and turn kids away based on things like sexual orientation and religion. Universal vouchers were on the ballot in 2018, and Arizona voters rejected them overwhelmingly, 65- 35. But the legislature ignored the wishes of voters and moved forward with a universal voucher program in the summer of 2022. 50-80% of vouchers are used by people who weren't sending their kids to public school to begin with, and the program disproportionately benefits wealthier families. ON VOUCHERS