Arizona Education Association

Spring 2018

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/955848

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 7 of 39

8 ADVOCATE | SPRING 2018 AT THE CAPITOL D uring the State of the State address and in a follow up press conference on education funding, Governor Doug Ducey announced his plan for Fiscal Year 2019-20 and touted K-12 education as the key priority in his budget. On Friday, January 12th the Governor's Office released the FY2019-20 Executive Budget where they continued to share that K-12 education was the priority with over 80% of the budget proposal begin focused on education spending. So, what does it mean for Arizona educators? Here's what you need to know. General Fund Snapshot $ in millions FY 2018 FY 2019 Total Revenues $9,871.4 $10,218.8 Enacted Base Spending 9,815.1 9,815.1 Baseline Changes 6.4 170.1 New Initiatives 7.2 158.5 Total Spending 9,828.7 10,143.7 Ending Balance $42.6 $67.2 Governor's Investment in Education For FY2019-20, the Governor allocates $198.4 million in new education initiatives. Of that investment, $190.4 million will be designated for K-12 education. K-12 Education $190.4 million Higher Education $8.0 million Total New Investment $198.4 million K-12 Education The Governor highlighted K-12 Education as the cornerstone of his FY2019 budget. Here is how. 1. District and Charter Additional Assistance The proposal adds ***$100 million in FY2019 to the Basic State Aid formula or District Additional Assistance (DAA) and Charter Additional Assistance (CAA). Of the total amount, $95 million is for DAA and $5 million is allocated for CAA. The Governor's proposal includes the full restoration of $371 million in Additional Assistance by FY2023. They intend to advance appropriate the funding in future budgets, however, because the current Governor and legislature cannot control what future governing bodies will do, this is not guaranteed funding. FY2019 Executive Budget What Does It Mean for Arizona Educators? Below is the projected spending in Additional Assistance: • FY2019: $100 million total ongoing funding • FY2020: $168 million total ongoing funding • FY2021: $236 million total ongoing funding • FY2022: $303 million total ongoing funding • FY2023: $371 million total ongoing funding 2. Permanent 2% Teacher Salary Increase Building on the 1.06% teacher salary increase that was installed during FY2018 legislative session, the Governor's proposal includes an additional $34 million for a total of $68 million to fund the permanent 2% salary increase. This funding becomes permanent as the proposal moves it to the base level, which is adjusted for inflation each year going forward. The definition of teacher remains narrow and is limited to "teachers who taught in an Arizona school district or charter school during the 2017-2018 school year and who teaches at the school district or charter school during the 2018-2019 school year." 3. School Construction and Repairs The Executive Budget proposes bonding for the construction of five new schools in Chandler Unified, Tolleson Union and Queen Creek Unified school districts. The bond would total $88.1 million over 25 years and would spend $5.1 million in the FY2019 budget. The Governor's proposal also includes $51.8 million for FY2019 in building renewal funding to allow school districts to maintain their facilities, and adds $10 million for building renewal in FY2018. The Governor continues funding model reliant on high-stakes testing. 1. Results-Based Funding The Governor's plan appropriates an additional $38 million in FY2019 to reward "high-achieving schools." The proposal maintains the funding model from FY2018 where schools that are already scoring in the top 10% of AZMerit receive Results-Based Funding. Low income schools (schools where 60% or more of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch) that achieve AZMerit scores in the top 10% will receive $400 per pupil. High income schools (schools where less than 60% of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch) that achieve AZMerit scores in the top 10% will receive $225 per pupil. Low income schools will not compete with high income schools for the funding. ***In FY2016, Governor Ducey cut $113.5 million in district additional assistance. This was an approximate loss of $135 per student and an overall loss of $352.4 million (or an 83% funding cut) when district additional assistance formula cuts were factored in.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Arizona Education Association - Spring 2018