The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer. Mathis is a Democrat who represents LD 9 in the Arizona House of Representatives. He is running for election in the new LD 18:
Christopher Mathis
Arizona has a budget surplus of over $5 billion. This gives us the opportunity to make a substantial down payment to reverse a 30-year decline in supporting public education.
Voters made it clear where they stand on public education funding when they approved Proposition 208 in November 2020. The “Invest in Education Act” would have brought class size, teacher salaries and teacher retention out of the cellar, where Arizona now ranks, and closer to the national median.
But the Arizona Supreme Court intervened, ruling that spending limits would prevent schools from using the revenue generated by Prop 208, and this ultimately rendered the entire measure invalid. In theory, the Legislature could have suspended those limits or referred a corrective measure to the ballot but the majority party was not interested.
To be blunt: the people want to put more funding into our public schools. Elected Arizona Republicans, by and large, don’t.
This debate isn’t difficult to understand. Democrats, Independents, business leaders and the majority of voters believe one of the state’s principal responsibilities is to educate the future workforce of Arizona. The state budget should reflect this priority.
Our kids are our future. What happens in public schools today will form the foundation for our economy in the decades to come. We should be improving opportunities for our young people by hiring more teachers, training them better and producing better-educated students. Arizona’s children do not deserve any less than kids in Texas or Colorado or New Mexico. The stronger we make our public schools, the more we will see high-wage jobs staying in and coming to Arizona.
Republicans prefer tax cuts that largely benefit the wealthiest Arizonans and taxpayer-subsidized vouchers to pay for private schools. Vouchers already divert $300 million from public education but Republicans insist that middle-income taxpayers should pay even more to support private schools. Voters had their say in 2017 when 65% opposed a ballot measure to expand vouchers but Republicans didn’t get the message. Legislation to expand vouchers has moved through the Legislature on party-line votes.
Other developments in Phoenix illustrate the challenges ahead. In less than an hour, the House Appropriations Committee recently passed sweeping changes to K-12 funding, including the elimination of additional pay for experienced teachers. This would cut teacher salaries, which are already 49th in the country. Another Republican-backed bill responded to the shortage of qualified teachers by weakening the requirements to become a teacher.
And yet, Arizona’s budget surplus means resources are now available to address the most serious issues facing K-12 education: teacher and staff salaries, class size, retention of good teachers and a chronic shortage of counselors. In 2020, Gallup surveyed 3,600 Arizona residents for the Center for the Future of Arizona and again found that education was a top priority. 73% — a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents — said we should spend more on public education and 92% agreed we should ensure all public schools have high-quality teachers and principals.
Public funds should be spent on public schools. Voters should be allowed to eliminate the spending cap and current funding sources like Prop 301 must be protected. We should strive to fund schools and teacher salaries at least at the nation’s median level if not greater.
Whatever shape the current legislative budget negotiations take, we should take full advantage of our historic $5.3 billion budget surplus, which includes an ongoing annual surplus of over $1.5 billion, and dedicate $2 billion of it to significantly strengthen and stabilize public education.
With our expanding economy, growing population and the increasing need for an educated and skilled workforce, why shouldn’t Arizona become a national leader in public education investment and outcomes?
