PHOENIX — State schools chief Diane Douglas wants an immediate boost in state aid to schools plus additional dollars to attract and retain teachers.
In a plan unveiled Tuesday, Douglas also wants the state to once again pay to build new schools before they are needed — and before students are spilling out of crowded buildings. And she said lawmakers and the governor should boost the money they are giving schools for maintenance.
All that would be above and beyond the $3.5 billion voters approved for schools in the coming decade — about $350 million a year or about $300 per student.
Douglas acknowledged the $680 million price tag for what she wants.
But she pointed out the state has about $450 million in it's "rainy day'' fund. And Douglas it is up to the governor and lawmakers to decide whether to keep that money there or spend it on education.
"As a state, do we want Arizona to have the best education system in the nation and in the world for our children, or simply the cheapest system we can get by with politically,'' she said.
In setting the aggressive goal, Douglas is putting pressure on Gov. Doug Ducey who spearheaded the campaign earlier this year for approval of Proposition 123.
At the time the governor promised that the additional dollars, most of them coming from a land trust account already set aside for education, would be only a first step. But Ducey has yet to provide any specifics on what more he will propose when the legislature convenes in January.
