Arizona Schools Funding: Ducey Disputes Report Critical Of State

A new report by a non-partisan policy research group criticizes Arizona for spending less now on K-12 education than it did before the recession. The report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities takes inflation into account.

The report, based on the center's analysis of data from the Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics, states Arizona spent 36.6 percent less per student in 2015 than it had in 2008.

That was the deepest cut of any state in the country, according to the center's research.

Governor Ducey disputes the report, saying it was politically motivated.

"That's a false report by a left-wing public interest group," he said. "It's up 10 percent since 2015."

Legislative figures, however, paint a different picture.

Those figures show that in 2007, the state spent $4,949 per student. That went down to $4,760 in 2015. Adjusted for inflation, the state is spending about $4,200.

Photo of Governor Ducey via Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo