Heather Mace: Education funding battle mirrors Super Bowl

Today may be Super Bowl Sunday, but it’s not just the Chiefs and 49ers who are battling for domination in their field. The Arizona legislature is in session, and republicans and democrats once again are clashing over how to spend education dollars in our state. As in many sporting contests, one political party has adopted an aggressive offense while the other is stuck in defense mode.

To see funding attacks in action, look no further than a slate of bills proposed by Arizona republicans. For starters, SB1131 would require any non-statewide or federal election to be redone if voter turnout is less than 25%. Since many school bond or override elections have low voter turnout, this could greatly affect districts’ abilities to approve these critical funding sources. HB2719 goes further, requiring that votes involving school bonds receive approval from a whopping 60% of all eligible voters. Both bills would make it more difficult for public schools to secure funding, even when those who show up to vote approve the measures.

A set of resolutions take aim at Prop 123, which voters passed in 2016 to fund education with money from Arizona’s general fund and state land trust. SCR1027 would allow only teachers– and not hard-working support staff– to receive salary increases from this revenue source. Then, SCR1034 would require teachers’ salary schedules to be approved by voters, making them nearly impossible to alter if a district’s financial circumstances change. Simply put, these resolutions would place restrictive limitations on how districts spend their voter approved monies.

As republicans advance these bills, democrats scramble to play defense against 2022’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) voucher expansion. Arizona’s universal ESA program now offers roughly $10,414 in tax money to any Arizona student to spend on private school or homeschool expenses. In September 2023, over 66,000 students were using ESAs, placing the program’s price tag in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

In response, democrats have sponsored bills that try to create accountability and transparency around ESA funding. For example, SB 1399 would require schools accepting ESA vouchers to report school performance measures to the state. It also would prohibit families from purchasing luxury items with these funds. HB2774 would require employees in ESA funded schools to undergo background checks, and HB2795 would require teachers at these schools to hold similar credentials to public-school teachers. A slew of similar bills attempt to reign in and place guardrails on the loosely regulated ESA program.

It’s worth noting that Gov. Katie Hobbs has the power to veto many of the bills that cross her desk this spring. That means some of these proposals are more symbolic than they are likely to pass. Even so, as long as parties are either set on defunding public schools or stuck defending against such measures, Arizona’s children will see very little forward progress.

To break this cycle, republicans can vote yes on reasonable accountability measures for ESA spending. After all, if public schools must be transparent about how they spend taxpayer money, so should private schools. In turn, democrats can drop more tedious ESA related bills like SB1396, which requires schools receiving vouchers to institute anti-bullying policies. Making private schools jump through extra hoops won’t stop the ESA program, but it will waste time and money on monitoring and enforcement.

In addition, legislators can come together to support bills where they do find common ground. Take SB1455, sponsored by Ken Bennett (R-1), which would give schools more time– and therefore flexibility– to spend public school tax credits on items like school lunch programs. Or HB2363, sponsored by Mariana Sandoval (D-23), which would establish a committee to study making educators’ health insurance more affordable.

Legislators must push themselves to reach across the aisle and support even a few bipartisan bills whenever possible. Perhaps then they can finally begin to imagine working as a team for the benefit of all Arizona children.