Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/706050
8 ADVOCATE | SUMMER 2016 at the capitol N ow that Prop 123 has passed, the AZ Schools Now coalition, a group includ- ing AEA and Arizona educators, business leaders, and parents, say the next step is increasing funding for K-12 public education by at least the $1.2 billion legislators have cut since the Great Recession. It's a move supported by 76 percent of Arizona voters polled after the election. They said state funding for public schools should be increased. "Prop 123 is a big step, but it cannot be the end of the discussion. When voters pass Prop 123, the campaign to support strong public schools will just be starting. We need to increase and stabilize funding for public education so our children go to school in clean classrooms with up to date textbooks and technology and small class sizes. We need to attract and retain the best teachers and give them the resources they need. And we need to restore full-day kindergarten so our children get the start they need when they enter school," says AEA President-elect Joe Thomas. "There are many, many other school- funding issues and schools issues we need to work on," Dana Wolfe Naimark, president and CEO of Children's Action Alliance said at the AZ Schools Now coali- tion news conference. But the group is asking lawmakers to focus on three specific goals for next year and beyond: 1. Sustain a workforce of qualified teachers with competitive salaries and quality professional development. 2. Provide critical tools for classrooms with supplies an updated textbooks and technology by restoring the school additional assistance funding for districts and charters. 3. Fix crumbling school buildings to give students safe, clean and func- tional places to learn by fully funding repair and maintenance. AZ Schools Now Education leaders echo voters' desire for funding beyond Prop 123 By Lisa Irish, Arizona Education News Service Julie Bacon, president-elect of the ASBA Board of Directors talks about how funding cuts have hurt public schools as Dana Wolfe Naimark with Children's Action Alliance, far left, Dick Foreman with Arizona Business and Education Coalition, near left, Beth Simek with Arizona Parent-Teacher Association, near right, and Joe Thomas with Arizona Education Association, far right, listen at the AZ Schools Now! press conference Monday morning at the Arizona State Capitol. Photo courtesy of Arizona School Boards Association Joe Thomas, newly elected president of Arizona Education Association says it's time to reinvest in Arizona's public schools at the AZ Schools Now! news conference Monday, May 23, 2016 at the State Capitol. Photo courtesy of Arizona School Boards Association