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Hi John,
Budget bills dropped today in the Senate (read our review of the dead-on-arrival House budget plan [[link removed]] in our Weekly Ed Report), and they contain zero reforms for our state's off-the-rails, $1 billion voucher program — while funding ANOTHER no-strings-attached check for vouchers to the tune of $52 million. 😡
The negotiated Senate plan does fund the K-12 poverty weight and District Additional Assistance (which were stripped from ongoing funding in 2024), but only for a single year. When it comes to overall K-12 funding, the Senate budget only gives 2% inflation increases for K-12 schools (the bare minimum required by law). The budget also proposes to lift the AEL school spending cap (Aggregate Expenditure Limit) for 2 years.
Make no mistake: this budget continues the status quo for Arizona students, keeping our classrooms 49th funded in the US.
Republicans rule the majority in both the Senate and the House, but they are fractured. House Republicans will need to come to the table to avoid extending the budget process into the week of June 23 (when Rep. Gress and other Republicans are planning to leave the country for his wedding in Italy), to the June 30 fiscal year deadline, or even beyond to a state shutdown.
🚨 REIN IN VOUCHERS — IN THIS YEAR’S BUDGET! 🚨
There’s still time to negotiate for voucher reforms and additional funding for K-12 students: Tell your lawmakers and Gov. Hobbs [[link removed]] that unaccountable vouchers for the rich must be reined in in this year’s budget! Our easy-to-use, one-click email tool is preloaded with a message, but we encourage you to customize your email for maximum impact .
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We’ll be real — our state budget is bone dry due to the $1 billion voucher scam and Ducey’s massive tax cuts for the rich [[link removed]] . The legislature has to backfill $300 million for Prop 123 [[link removed]] because Republicans wouldn’t negotiate a renewal, and Supt. Horne has recently requested an additional $200 million driven by vouchers [[link removed]] .
At the very least, this Senate budget negotiated by Gov. Hobbs will prevent cuts to public schools — unlike the House Republican version. But when you're 49th in the nation, "no further cuts" just isn't enough. At Save Our Schools Arizona, we don’t celebrate crumbs when it comes to kids and their education.
While the odds are against us on this year’s budget, we urge you to reach out to your lawmakers and Gov. Hobbs to remind them that our students and educators deserve better!
With thanks,
Team SOSAZ
P.S. We also hear that, desperate for any kind of leverage in budget negotiations, House Republicans are trying to keep the threat of an unpopular Prop 123-voucher mashup alive [[link removed]] to force their budget demands — but that scheme doesn’t appear to have the votes to pass. Gov. Hobbs has been clear this is a nonstarter. We will keep you updated, so stay tuned!
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PO Box 28370
Tempe, AZ 85285
United States
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