Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/955848
SPRING 2018 | ADVOCATE 9 AT THE CAPITOL 2. The Governor's Targeted Investments ***Fully Fund Large JTEDs: $2 million to fully restore the Basic State Aid formula for Joint Technical Education Districts (JTEDs). JTEDs with over 2,000 will receive 100% of Basic State Aid to enhance courses and industry-certified programs. Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities: $1.6 million to hire 21 new teachers and increase the number of home visits per month for AZ School for the Deaf and Blind's birth-to-three program. K-12 Computer Science: $2.5 million to create a Computer Science Pilot Program that offers rigorous training and infrastructure to public schools that do not currently offer computer science instruction. Early Literacy: $4 million for the second year of expanding early literacy programs. Higher Education 1. The Executive Budget implements the first year of the $1 billion capital funding plan for universities' new research and development infrastructure with an annual installment of $27 million. Universities will also receive a one-time $8 million general fund appropriation. Conclusion Restoring the district and charter school additional assistance funding that was previously cut in fiscal year 2016 is a necessary reinvestment in Arizona's K-12 public schools. However, this restoration fills only a small portion of the funding gap that has persisted since the recession. Classroom funding will remain $950 million below 2008 levels. By refusing to address the revenue imbalances in our budget, we leave our schools and the students they serve without a serious, long-term path toward meeting the shared goals of the Arizona Education Progress Meter or addressing our critical teacher shortage. ***In FY2015, Governor Ducey continued the funding cuts to large JTEDs (those with 2,000 students or more) by only funding 95.5% of the formula. * CHART DOES NOT INCLUDE NEW SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION $100 M REVERSING DISTRICT ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE CUTS FROM 2015 $175 M FOR OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, REPAIRS $296 M FOR INFLATION [PROP 123] $952 MILLION STILL MISSING GOVERNOR DUCEY'S FY 2019 PROPOSAL LEAVES PUBLIC SCHOOLS $952 MILLION SHORT, COMPARED TO 2008