First let me start this letter off with full disclosure! I am a husband of a AZ teacher that has been teaching for over 20+ years. I have been active in public schools as a site council board member, science fair coordinator, club coach and volunteer. I have also volunteered for one of the state’s Scholarship Tuition Organizations (STO) for 3 years. I feel strongly that education is important. I have had a front row seat for many years. For many years, I was a Republican. I am now not tied to a party. I support those leaders that lead with a solid heart and will do the right things, not those that are beholding to backers.
I am writing to all of you because the crisis with public education is completely your fault! I understand that not everyone has been active over the past decade in their current positions. That does not let you off the hook for what is happening now. The #RedforEd movement has been a blessing. Every year the teachers get to hear from leaders, that you must do what is best of students. The economy is not strong, and funding has been removed from everywhere. Over the past decade there have been plenty of actions that just don’t make sense.
- What happened to the Arizona Lottery money that is paid to the state. In the beginning a large portion of that money was targeted to education. After digging into where the money went, we just know that K-12 got a zero (0) dollars.
- Tax Credits have increased for private schools, but public-school tax credits are $694 lower. Just look at 2016 alone. Private STO’s collected $101M vs $53M collected by public schools. In 2016, corporations collected tax credits for private schools for another additional ~$57M. All Private School tax credits apply to scholarships for students. In the public school the money is for extra curricular activities. When you look at the total dollars and the unfair practice you have voted into law, it makes certain that you don’t support public education. You stand on “school choice,” but you really should call it Privatization of Education!
- I question the intention of a law maker(s) that write legislation and profits from said legislation. I believe this is a conflict of interest, and any legislator that does said action should be removed from office. How much money has State Senator Steve Yarbrough been paid by an STO?
- Tax credits that have a “recommendation for a specific student” is open to many issues. Families trading of tax credit recommendations – since STO’s don’t share tax credit information, it is possible to get a tax free education to a private school. Another concern with student tax credit recommendation is the family of that student could be more than “fairly” compensated. The issue is where do you cut off the yearly compensation of a parent asking for a scholarship? I have seen scholarship go to students that the compensation of the parents is over $400K.
- Regarding expanding vouchers: I can only hope that the dollars that are going to anyone receiving a voucher are the exact dollar that is paid for per student in public schools. This is another practice that leads me to believe that we are dismantling our public education system.
- Continuing to cut taxes and removing those funds from the general fund should not be an option until you have repaired the financial damage to public education.
I am extremely disappointed that there has not been a collaboration in developing a solution. I understand you cannot completely work with every member for the legislator or every educator. The fact that you have not included anyone from across the aisle is just wrong. Our state does not need to look like our federal government of dysfunction. Public education is something that never should be a political hot potato. We are talking about our kids and their future.
Governor Ducey – you introduced your #20X2020 plan back on April 12th. Nothing was truly written down for legislators to discuss, or amend, or vote on. I’m not sure that you thought that words were going to stop the educators from taking action. Well, you found that out the hard way. The fact is, there are still a lot more supporters of the teachers than you anticipated. Watching 60+K red shirts march toward the Capital was a sight never seen before. What did the legislators do? They adjourned for the weekend! That action is why the teachers feel disrespected. When you stretch a rubber band too far – it snaps! Guess what, the educators have snapped.
You and a few of the GOP leadership worked on your plan! You hit the news airways with your plan, which is basically no different than before – you told one news channel that additional money was in your plan before but not clearing communicated. So, educators are still waiting!
I ask one simple question, why did you not call a special session to address this over the weekend? You said that it would take a couple of days… You wanted the teachers back in the classroom, but you failed to make that happen. I am completely disappointed in how everyone has handle the public education crisis. Your plan is just a start, there is much that needs to be done moving forward. I am afraid that you and some of the AZ lawmakers think you have fixed it with your plan. You have just begun. You need to make sure that work continues. Trust must be earned and right now – there is no reason to trust any of you.
Please get to work! Do your job and start repairing a decade of neglect to public education. We need a sustainable revenue source that is not touched in times of crisis. We need funding per student to get to national average – I will not accept 2008 levels! That would be a good plan!
Thanks,
Stephen L. Bell
BTW: If you want to come out and discuss – I will be wearing a red shirt and sitting in support of public education in Camp Haley! I would love the opportunity to discuss.
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