PHOENIX — Doug Ducey wants to make empty schools and classrooms in existing public schools available to charter schools.
In his first State of the State speech Monday, the new governor said Arizona has some of the best public schools in America. Some of them are charter schools which, under Arizona law, also are public schools.
"But unfortunately because of yesterday's policies, many families are shut out,'' he told the joint session of the Legislature.
"They sit and wait, as their sons and daughters get another year older and their dreams of providing them with the best public education possible slip farther and farther away,'' Ducey said. "This has gone on too long.''
What makes the situation more "troubling,'' Ducey said, is there are nearly 400,000 empty seats in the public school system.
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"In fact, some public schools are completely vacant, educational assets, funded by the taxpayer, meant to benefit our children, and they are going to waste,'' the governor continued. "It's time to put these assets back to work.''
In his speech, the governor also told lawmakers he wants:
• State income tax brackets indexed so that individuals do not pay more solely because their wages increase no more than inflation;
• A requirement for high schoolers to pass a civics test to get a diploma;
• Create a position of inspector general to search out savings in state spending and corruption where it exists, someone who would have "a badge and subpoena power to to go in, ask the tough questions and be a watchdog for the taxpayers.''
Ducey also said he is opposed to suggestions by some that hundreds of millions of dollars in business tax cuts be canceled or delayed. They were enacted in 2011 and 2012 but are just starting to kick in now.
On his plan to boost school choice, Ducey wants charter schools to be able to apply for the use of the empty schools and classrooms "so we can put those kids where they belong: in the public school of their parent's choice.''
Ducey provided no specifics of how the system would work and who would be responsible for the costs of keeping the buildings open.
The governor acknowledged inheriting the ongoing lawsuit over whether the state owes hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to public schools.
In 2013 the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that, beginning in 2010, legislators and then-Gov. Jan Brewer ignored a 2000 voter-approved mandate to adjust state aid for schools each year to account for inflation. That sent the case back to Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper to figure out exactly how much schools are owed.
Cooper already has ruled current state aid needs to be immediately increased by $317 million. And she is weighing a request by schools for more than $1 million in aid not given in prior years.
Ducey said Monday that lawmakers, in trimming the aid, "acted in good faith during the Great Recession'' to meet what they saw as their legal commitments to education while also balancing the budget.
"Now the courts have given us a choice -- between a fiscal crisis or a constitutional crisis,'' Ducey said. "So I say to you, the Legislature: Settle this lawsuit.''
But Ducey also said that works both ways.
"To the education community: Be reasonable and put this behind us,'' he said. "It's time to stop paying lawyers and start paying teachers.''
Follow Howard Fischer on Twitter at @azcapmedia.
