The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer. Morgan Abraham is a state representative from Tucson, representing District 10:
Morgan Abraham
Morgan Abraham
Like many Arizonans, my parents came to this state in search of a better life. My dad immigrated to this country with no money and no college degree, and chose Arizona for the opportunity to get a job and build a life. My mom, a lifelong schoolteacher, chose Arizona for the state’s strong public education system at the time.
Driven by people with similar stories, Arizona has grown rapidly over the past 50 years, and is now one of the fastest-growing states in the United States. Families moved here for high-quality public education, and for economic opportunity. And in doing so, they built our state into what it is today.
I am so grateful for my parents’ decision to plant roots in Arizona. My dad was able to get a great education, and later, a great job. My mom felt valued as a teacher and made a living wage. With those jobs, they were able to give my brothers and sisters and me access to more opportunities than they had ever had.
Arizona’s investments in education meant that I was able to go to high-quality public schools, which allowed me to go on to attend the University of Arizona. Now, I work to do my part to make this state better as a small-business owner, Army Reserve officer and current member of the Arizona Legislature. With the foundation of a strong educational system and their own hard work, my parents were able to better their lives and lift our family up. That was what Arizona was all about!
Today, I fear that Arizona promise is slipping away. It’s true that we got hit harder from the Great Recession than many other states, which resulted in Republican budgets balanced on the backs of our schools. But even as our state recovered from the Great Recession, the public education funding never recovered. Our inflation-adjusted per-pupil state and local spending on education is actually lower today than it was when I went to school. That is unacceptable.
At the Legislature I always hear talk about making Arizona a more competitive state. I hear people talk about having a competitive tax rate, business climate etc. It’s time we start talking about how uncompetitive we are on education and how we need to do something to fix that now!
While we have failed to fully fund education in the state over the last 10 years, other states continue to increase education funding, leaving Arizona further behind, and now we’re at 49th place in per-pupil spending. How does being nearly dead last on such an important metric help make Arizona more competitive?
Right now, across the state, classrooms are being led by a series of stand-ins as we deal with a massive teacher shortage that is worsening every year. Students who could be the next innovative scientists or successful small business owners or great teachers themselves are in classrooms that don’t have full-time teachers assigned to them. How does that help make Arizona competitive?
The good news is that there’s a straightforward solution. Thanks to the hard work of Arizonans, we have a budget surplus of $5 billion. We don’t need to raise taxes, and we don’t need to cut spending from other areas of government. The funding is available to invest in education today. All we need to do is act. We can and must make a massive investment in education — this year — using our budget surplus.
I believe it’s time we invest in the next generation of Arizonans, just like previous generations invested in me. It’s time we commit to giving the next generation of Arizonans more opportunity than we had. It’s time we restore the promise of Arizona, one based on an incredible public education system and the economic opportunity that follows. And we can start now.
