January 25 - 29, 2010

Inside This Issue

• House Passes Bill that Could Grow Deficit
• Education Coalition Forums
• L.O.V.E. Rally
• Participate in the March4Schools Statewide Day of Action
• Upcoming Bills
• News Links

House Passes Bill that Could Grow Deficit
Yesterday the House passed Speaker Kirk Adams' HB 2250, a corporate welfare bill that provides huge tax incentives and cuts to big businesses and the wealthiest Arizonans.

Arizona already has one of the more regressive tax structures in the country, and the 4th highest tax burden on those households whose earnings put them in the lowest 20 percent.  In addition to a long list of rebates, payments, and tax breaks to businesses who move or expand here in the future, HB 2250 includes large and permanent cuts to general fund revenues:  cuts in the personal income tax for every household in Arizona, cuts in the corporate income tax for every corporation in Arizona, cuts to property taxes for education for every household and every business in Arizona, extra cuts in property taxes for businesses that will either be paid for by households or the state general fund, and extra cuts in the corporate income tax for certain businesses that sell products out of state.

Arizona is facing a $1.4 billion deficit this year and a $3.2 billion deficit next year and for the past 20 years state legislators has been giving large corporations these same kinds of tax giveaways at the expense of public school funding.  According to ASU economists, when inflation and population growth are considered, revenue in the current fiscal year is $2.6 billion less than it would have been had this long series of tax cuts not taken place.

The bill relies heavily on a recent study conducted by Elliott D. Pollack & Co., who even says in his report, "Keep in mind that Arizona cannot be 'number one' in every economic development category. A state cannot be first in low tax rates and also be first in education and infrastructure spending."

Representative Adams says that the purpose of this bill is to attract businesses to the state, but what business would be attracted to a state whose education funding is dead last in the nation?  How does this legislature expect to generate an educated workforce when they make massive cuts to public education budgets?

This bill does not address the state's budget deficit because it proposes the same obsolete economic policies that got Arizona to its current situation.  Instead, this bill will jeopardize Arizona's ability to create future revenue - while at the same time reducing current general funds!  With the passage of this bill the legislative leadership shows that they have big businesses' interests in mind and not the citizens' of Arizona.

Education Coalition Forums
Please join us for an important community conversation about education in Arizona following a video presentation of "Education and The Economy in Arizona:  Creating the Essential Connections."

We will view the video presentation and engage in facilitated discussions in communities across the state of Arizona.  Results of these conversations will be shared with participants, key leaders and policy makers in our local communities and our state.

• February 1, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., at ASU-West Campus, University Center Building, La Sala Auditorium A/B, 4701 W. Thunderbird Road, in Glendale.
• February 16, 6 - 8 p.m., at Amphitheater High School, Panter Hall, 125 W. Yavapai, in Tucson.

Forums in Flagstaff, Yuma, and Chandler, TBA.  For complete directions and details register today by visiting the Arizona K-12 Center's Web site http://www.azk12.org/ and choose the forum in your area to register.

L.O.V.E. Rally
You are invited to the Lifting Our Voices for Education Rally at the Capitol on Sunday, February 14, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., at Wesley Bolin Plaza, 1700 W. Washington St., in Phoenix.
 
Show your support for public schools and bring valentines for Governor Brewer and your state legislators and put them in the giant valentines boxes.  This rally is organized with the support of the Arizona Education Association, Arizona School Administrators and Arizona School Boards Association.  Download the flyer. 
 
Participate in the March4Schools Statewide Day of Action
On March 4, 2010, at 4 p.m., thousands of education supporters statewide will mobilize community outreach actions.  These concurrent actions will have teachers, education support professionals, and parents sharing their stories about the impact of legislative funding cuts to their schools with the voting public in an effort to bring attention to the anti-education legislators who are attacking the teachers and schools in their neighborhood.
 
Every March4Schools Day of Action participant will wear a t-shirt that can be purchased online to demonstrate the broad and deep unified support for quality public education for every child in Arizona.  Don't miss out on the March4Schools Statewide Day of Action.  Order your t-shirt online today at www.march4schoolstshirts.com.  Download the flyer. Visit www.march4schools.com for more information.
 
Upcoming Bills
There were several education bills introduced this week that AEA will be watching.  They were all sponsored by Representative Hendrix, who also sponsored the payroll deduction bill HB 2395.  Below is a summary of the bills:

• HB 2140 - Repeals the entire Career Ladder Program (effective immediately - no phase out).
• HB 2226 - Repeals the special session education policy changes and then reinserts them into statute. This bill would eliminate AEA's legal argument in our lawsuit (since the legislature will move to re-enact the policy changes during a regular session). In addition, the 5 percent cap that the legislature attempted to place on Career Ladder Districts during the special session is moved to begin in FY11.
• HB 2227 - Requires teachers to return their contracts within 10 days. Current statute allows a 30-day window.
• HB 2239 - Requires a school board to include in a teacher performance evaluation system "an objective assessment of the academic performance of students who are instructed by the teacher."

News Links

Experts Say a Rewrite of Nation's Main Education Law Will Be Hard This Year
In his State of the Union address, President Obama held out the hope of overhauling the main law outlining the federal role in public schools, a sprawling 45-year-old statute that dates to the Johnson administration.
 
Teachers Still Feeling Ramifications of Last Year's Protest at Capitol
One of the most vocal opponents to school budget cuts has been the Arizona Education Association.
 
Oregon Voters Pass Tax Increasing Measures by Big Margin
Oregon voters bucked decades of anti-tax and anti-Salem sentiment Tuesday, raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy to prevent further erosion of public schools and other state services.
 
We Must Fight Legislature's Assault on Teachers
Editorial by AEA member Randy Camacho
 
Contact Us
Please contact Sheenae Shannon, Communications Organizational Consultant, sheenae.shannon@arizonaea.org for questions and comments.