Governor Ducey Calls For Education Funding To Be Restored

PHOENIX, AZ – Governor Ducey says that he wants to restore education funding to the level it was at before the recession of 2008. The first step is to provide $100 million more in fudning for the next fiscal year.

His plan calls for a $371 million funding increase over the next five years. He made the announcement at the Capitol accompanied by lawmakers and education officials.

"This proposal continues our commitment to fully restoring cuts made to schools during the Recession in a permanent and flexible way," he said.

"I thank all the stakeholders and education leaders working with us to get this done and look forward to putting this needed plan into action."

In addition to restoring the funding, Ducey's education plan includes:

• $116 million for student growth and inflation;
• $88.1 million in debt financing leveraged by $5.1 million from the General Fund to construct new schools or expand capacity;
• $35.2 million for building renewal grants to improve or repair aging school facilities (that brings the total to $51.8 million), plus $10 million in supplemental funding for additional grants in FY 2018;
• $34 million for the second year of the teacher salary increase and moving the total increase into the base level to ensure it will be adjusted for inflation every year (that brings the total to $68 million);
• $4 million to continue expanding early literacy funding for all-day kindergarten and other critical early childhood programs;
• $2.5 million to expand the Governor’s Partnership for K-12 Computer Science pilot program that will allow schools to offer high-quality, rigorous training for new computer science teachers;
• $2 million to fully funding large Joint Technical Education Districts (JTEDs), which serve more than half of all students attending JTEDs;
• And $7.6 million in other key education investments on information technology projects and assessments.

The governor will announce a plan later this month to spend millions on new school buses.

Superintendent of the Mesa Unified School District Mike Cowan said the restoration of cuts: "will mean the return of much needed resources to our district.

"We have had to make difficult choices, and now we can balance our need to increase teacher pay and capital, without sacrificing one for the other."

Photo courtesy Governor Ducey's Office.