The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer. Gutierrez is a teacher in the Tucson Unified School District and a candidate for the Arizona House in LD 18:
Nancy Gutierrez
What should Arizona do with a $5 billion surplus? Well, as a public school teacher and Arizona state House candidate, I’ve got a few ideas.
Arizona is notorious for spending the least amount possible on public education. In turn, we spend among the least amount per pupil, have one of the lowest median teacher salary structures in the country and we have schools that are literally crumbling. This has been the long-term plan of the GOP, and they have done a very good job at being very bad to public education. I have some ideas for the surplus money, and since the Republicans aren’t including the Democrats in our Legislature to be part of the discussion, I write to all of you.
This $5 billion surplus includes roughly $4 billion that can easily be spent on one-time expenses that will greatly benefit our schools. The heat is on and many school districts have buses with no air conditioning and are in need of repair. Many of us teach in buildings that have no working air conditioning. At my school, there are tiles that have pulled up from the floor and not enough usable classrooms to give each teacher their own space.
We can use some of this surplus to renovate rooms, put flooring in, update air conditioners, and replace and repair portable classrooms that are falling apart. Our desktop computers are over 15 years old and my department’s printer (yes, one printer for the department) is ancient.
Some of that $5 billion could go a long way for these incredibly needed upgrades in schools across our state.
Safety is a concern on many parents’ minds, including mine. A portion of this $5 billion would be very well spent on hallway and entrance cameras, updating security gates and locks and making sure our buildings are safe for all who are on campus. In some classrooms, we can not hear emergency announcements because the systems have never been updated. This is not because we haven’t wanted to spend money on updating. It’s because there is no money in the school district budget to do the updating.
Let’s talk about text books. I was a text book salesperson in 2002 in California. I sold books to middle and high schools. These were high-quality books with new literature and state standards built into them. When I got to my current school in 2013, I was shocked to see those very same books that were from 2002 on the shelves of the English classrooms. As a matter of fact, they are the very same books being used today. It is unjust to ask teachers and students to use outdated textbooks when we have billions in our budget.
You might be wondering why I haven’t proposed spending this money on salaries. After all, Arizona teachers and staff are extremely underpaid. We absolutely do need to spend money on salaries. There is approximately $1 billion in recurring money that should go to teacher and staff salaries. The money that we need to use for bringing our teacher salaries to at least 25th in the nation, or giving all the paraprofessionals and security and secretaries and lunch workers a raise to get at least $15 an hour, has to come from a sustainable source. That must come in a budget line item that lasts longer than the expected surplus over the next few years.
Guess what? We can afford that too! We have always been able to afford public education to be funded, but the party in charge has never made it a priority. They won’t. In order for us to fully fund our public schools and give every single student a quality and equitable education, we must vote. I will “fight like a teacher” to get that done. I ask that you make it a priority to contact your state legislators today and ask them to spend the money on education. I ask that you mark your calendar now for Aug. 2, 2022. That is the primary election and it is critical that we all vote.
I am going to continue to fight like a teacher to win a seat in the House and bring my teacher’s voice to our Legislature. Please raise your voice and demand that we serve our Arizona children today.
