Once again, a national study has ranked the states for public education funding and resources — and once again, Arizona ranks at the bottom of the barrel. 

As Laurie Roberts said in her column, “Congratulations to the Arizona Legislature. After decades of neglect and outright contempt, our leaders have finally achieved their goal. When it comes to public education, we’re No. 51!”

However, lest anyone think that Arizona teachers or schools are in any way to blame, it’s important to note that despite ranking second to last in the nation for per-pupil funding, Arizona punches above its weight for student performance, coming in at 40th. What’s more, Arizona students perform at the national average on the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress). 

Instead, the study found that Arizona ranks 50th in the nation for the amount of funding and resources provided to public schools. According to the US Census Bureau, the national average per-pupil funding is $15,633 — but Arizona lags behind, only investing $10,315 per pupil. That means every Arizona student receives more than $5,000 less than their national peers per year (a $5.5 billion yearly deficit). 

Funding matters. Arizona has the highest student-to-teacher ratio in the nation, which, paired with low teacher pay, directly contributes to the massive teacher retention crisis in our state. It is abundantly clear that a chronic lack of state funding for public education directly correlates with student performance — it is no coincidence that the states with the lowest academic performance in the nation also have the lowest levels of funding. Our Arizona teachers are already doing more with less every year; imagine the heights our students could soar to with the fully funded schools they deserve. 

However, lest anyone think that Arizona teachers or schools are in any way to blame, it’s important to note that despite ranking second to last in the nation for per-pupil funding, Arizona punches above its weight for student performance, coming in at 40th. What’s more, Arizona students perform at the national average on the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress). 

Arizona voters have a choice this November: to maintain our 50th-in-the-nation K-12 funding status quo by electing the same leaders who woefully fund our public schools, or to vote for pro-public education lawmakers who will truly invest in our teachers and students. 

🔥 As Laurie Roberts said, “You want a Legislature that devotes less energy to figuring new and creative ways to divert public money to private and religious schools? One that will instead work on ways to improve the public schools the vast majority of Arizona’s children attend? Did I mention there’s an election coming up in just seven weeks?"

Find all of the SOSAZ endorsed school board and legislative candidates, as well as Bond and Override information, at: sosarizona.org/vote

This week, we weighed in on most of the propositions that are going to be on the General Election ballot. Here is our handy Proposition Voting Guide:

The vast majority of these are legislative referrals put on the ballot for nefarious reasons by the extremist-run state legislature. For more details on these positions, visit our Propositions page at sosarizona.org/vote4publiced/propositions/

We also took a position on judges, recommending a DO NOT RETAIN vote on Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King. Both justices are members of the Federalist Society and have a history of dangerous decisions that have major negative implications on public education. Rejecting these justices would give Gov. Hobbs two Arizona Supreme Court appointments in January. For more information, visit sosarizona.org/vote4publiced/judges/

#TeamSOSAZ volunteers are fired up and contacting thousands of voters every week! THANK YOU to these 🤩 Knockstars and 🤩 Callstars (see what we did there?) for putting in serious work to elect pro-public education candidates!

Don’t sit out — get in the game and make an impact on #Election2024. Find an event near you and sign up here: https://sosarizona.org/upcomingevents/ 

Alisha is an educator and a mom who regularly knocks doors in Chandler for #PublicSchoolProud candidates. Thank you for making time to make a difference and for knocking doors with us, Alisha!

With just 6 weeks until Election Day 2024, NOW is the time to get involved: bit.ly/SOSAZvol

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Every dollar contributed to this fund will go directly towards electing pro-public education candidates up and down the 2024 ballot, from school board to the state legislature.