As Arizona’s legislative stop-and-start carnival ride resumes this Monday, ESA voucher cost estimates continue to balloon to nearly $1 billion while future revenue projections evaporate. Hobbs and legislative Republicans are celebrating an early and “bipartisan” budget, but there’s zero guarantee our state will have the money to pay for it.
On Friday, the legislature’s nonpartisan budget analysts issued new projections of a $175 million shortfall in the revenue that is supposed to pay for this most recent budget. Individual income tax collections plummeted last month — in other words, the massive tax cuts former Gov. Ducey and Republican lawmakers passed in 2021 are now (as predicted) decimating our budget. To make matters worse, lawmakers spent every cent of our state’s surplus, leaving a very small $8 million margin for error, and leading analysts to warn that this year’s budget may not end up being balanced after all.
Save Our Schools Arizona warned when the flat tax was being debated, “This dangerous and permanent tax cut will impact our state for many years to come” — making it all but impossible to fund our state’s many priorities, including public education. If you’ll remember, our volunteer network joined other education advocacy groups in 2021 to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures to refer the flat tax to the ballot for a vote and stop this damage, but the state Supreme Court tossed the referral in the trash.
SOSAZ also cautioned this year, “Tax cuts subtracting from the general fund keep a competitively funded public education system forever out of reach.” We repeatedly warned lawmakers that Arizona was heading for a fiscal train wreck, necessitating immediate corrective action. JLBC was already projecting that future years would have little to no surplus due to Ducey’s ill-considered flat tax and the wasteful drain of universal ESA vouchers. If you’re frustrated and infuriated to see all of it coming true, you’re not alone. With federal COVID relief dollars drying up and Prop 123 about to go off a fiscal cliff, our schools are in serious trouble. We need our leaders to take this crisis head-on instead of hoping for a solution to drop from the sky.
Incredibly, even in the face of these projections, Republican lawmakers plan to advance bills this week that would slash state revenues even further. SB1577, forcibly choking off revenues if Arizona ever sees another surplus, and SB1559, a tax cut for corporations, are both on the House’s floor calendars for Monday.
Republican lawmakers also plan to push through SCR1015, which would ask voters to restrict Arizona’s initiative and referendum process by requiring ballot measures to collect signatures from a percentage of voters in each of Arizona’s 30 legislative districts: 10% for initiatives, 15% for a constitutional amendment. This anti-democracy measure would give any single district veto powers over the rest of the state, and would make citizen initiatives, including future education funding proposals, nearly impossible in Arizona.
The toxic combination of ESA voucher costs and flat tax impacts means the dream of funding public schools is exactly that — a pipe dream. We call on Gov. Hobbs and the legislature to rein in the unaccountable, wasteful ESA voucher program before it bankrupts not just the public schools that 92% of Arizona families choose, but the state as a whole. Use our newest one-click email here: bit.ly/K12Emergency
Your voice matters. A simple phone call or email to your lawmaker asking them to prioritize funding for schools and responsible policies for education goes a long way. In order for Arizona to move forward and thrive, these critical discussions need to take place. Find your legislative district here. Email and phone information for your representatives is here and your senator is here.
🌟 Call or email your House Reps and tell them to vote no on SB1138, SB1577, and SCR1015
🌟 Call or email your Senator and tell them to vote no on HB2786
We call on Gov. Hobbs and the legislature to rein in the unaccountable, wasteful ESA voucher program before it bankrupts our state. Use our newest one-click email here: bit.ly/K12Emergency
Each of these bills is scheduled for a floor vote on Monday.
SB1138, sponsored by Jake Hoffman (R-15), would ban banks that do business in Arizona from “discriminating” based on political affiliation or social or environmental values. If the measure passes, most banks would not be able to work with any Arizona counties. Fourteen of Arizona’s 15 county treasurers (10 of whom are Republicans) oppose the bill; as the Coconino County treasurer says, “How are teachers going to get payroll if I don’t have a bank I can work with?” One recent study says such efforts could cost Arizona millions. OPPOSE.
SB1577, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), would mandate that, if Arizona has a budget surplus in any given year, the state must automatically cut income tax rates by 50% for the following year. Arizona has just begun to dig itself out of the Great Recession, which left Arizona underfunded in nearly every area and still struggling to fund K-12 schools. Meanwhile, Arizona still gives away more money every year ($24.5 billion) in tax cuts, credits and carve-outs than it spends in its budget. The fiscal note projects a FY2027 General Fund loss of $253.5 million. Read SOSAZ’s op-ed here. OPPOSE.
SCR1015, sponsored by JD Mesnard (R-13), would ask voters to restrict Arizona’s initiative and referendum process by requiring ballot measures to collect signatures from a percentage of voters in each of Arizona’s 30 legislative districts: 10% for initiatives and 15% for a constitutional amendment. This anti-democracy measure would effectively give any single district veto powers over the rest, and would almost certainly end citizen initiatives in Arizona. Nearly identical measures have been proposed in at least four other sessions, including last year, but have never passed. OPPOSE.
HB2786, sponsored by Justin Heap (R-10), would require school boards to notify parents of recommended or funded “training opportunities” for teachers or school administrators. The new Horne administration considers social-emotional learning, diversity and equity to be Trojan horses for “critical race theory,” and has canceled planned teacher presentations on these and other “non-academic” subjects, even though the American Psychological Association says they positively impact kids’ lives and ability to learn. Scheduled for a House final reading, Monday. OPPOSE.
In Texas, rural Republican lawmakers have killed Gov. Abbott’s ESA voucher bill, citing a lack of benefit to rural communities and choosing instead to support local public schools. Texas lawmakers have undoubtedly tracked the abysmal results here in Arizona and learned from our cautionary tale. The fight isn’t quite over, as Abbott has already announced that he will call legislators back for a special session to force in ESA vouchers.
Also this week, Superintendent (of Public Instruction) Horne doubled down on admitting to using $600,000 in taxpayer dollars to advertise ESA vouchers (for private instruction) via TV & radio — fueling the voucher grift at taxpayer expense.
Education Advocacy Mini Sessions
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6/12 – Welcome to Team SOSAZ – Register HERE
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Mesa Education Townhall – Register HERE
Education Roadshow in Parker – Register HERE
Education Roadshow in Quartzite – Register HERE
Education Townhall in Central Tucson – Register HERE
We encourage you to scan this section and contact your senator or representatives directly, as applicable, on bills you care about.
Key:
⚠️= veto-proof bill
📥= on Gov. Hobbs’ desk
🗑️ = vetoed
Ballot Referrals:
Attacks on Teachers & Curriculum:
Voucher Expansions:
Attacks on Schools, School Boards, Districts:
Resources & Accountability:
Frustrated by what you see here? Use our one-click email tool to tell lawmakers you want Arizona to focus on real education needs, not voucher grifts: bit.ly/prioritizepubliced
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