School Vouchers Deal Angers Some: Teachers, Kindergartens Win Big in $480M Budget Despite Officials' Misgivings
The Tribune; 6/25/2006

Jun. 25--Nearly half a billion dollars.

Full-day kindergarten in every school. Raises for teachers. Millions more for special education funding. When it's all tallied up, Arizona's public schools will get an increase in state funding of more than $480 million -- more than double the amount they have been getting each year for the past 15 years.

"If you had asked people at the beginning of this session to bet this would happen, you would have gotten very few people making that bet," said Chuck Essigs, a lobbyist for the Arizona Association of School Business Officials, former Mesa Unified School District official and an observer of the Arizona Legislature for more than 25 years. "It would be like a 50-to-1 long shot at the Kentucky Derby." Yet, to some educators, it's precious little to celebrate. John Wright, president of the Arizona Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, has posted an ominous message on the AEA Web site: "The deal is not worth the damage."

The budget negotiated between Gov. Janet Napolitano and lawmakers also includes more state dollars for private schools -- a notion that violates core principles held by the union and many in public education. And it provides a $542 million tax cut.

Combined, the private school dollars and tax cut "jeopardize public education funding for the future," the Web site says.

The budget deal, "negotiated in secrecy" and "voted on in the middle of the night," Wright maintains, is a "bittersweet turn of events" for Arizona's public schools.

THE COMPROMISE

While state law required the Legislature approve an increase of at least $217 million for teacher pay, benefits and enrollment growth, lawmakers went above and beyond that, adding another $100 million.

Napolitano also convinced lawmakers to push up the timeline for implementing statewide full-day kindergarten, allotting enough money to bring the program to every school by the 2007-08 school year.

Next year, $118 million will go for kindergarten programs -- more than triple the $38 million spent on the program this year.

In the 2007-08 school year, the state will increase that by $80 million to a total of $198 million -- more than five times the amount spent this year.

In addition, the budget includes a $5 million increase for special education students and $5 million more for school districts' transportation costs.

But in order to get these measures, Napolitano had to agree to spend $5 million on new voucher programs that allow children who are disabled or in foster care to attend private schools with taxpayer dollars.

The budget also doubled the size of corporate tuition tax credits for private schools, allowing businesses to donate up to $10 million for private school scholarships for lowincome students.

Eric Kurland, president of the Scottsdale Education Association, said he believes Napolitano did the best she could do in tough circumstances, but he is not happy with the trade-off.

"There are some things in the budget that are not palatable. Vouchers are among those, because they're taking money away from public education," he said.

Wright told the Tribune, "The two (voucher) programs provide nothing of real value and some real risks to overall school policy."

"I've been a foster parent for 12 years," Wright said. "My foster children have needed a good state-funded school system, and warm loving households -- not a voucher so they can flee their neighborhood school."

Wright also is worried that the budget includes the suspension of a state education property tax and cuts in personal income tax, which he estimates will mean $1.5 billion less going into state coffers over the next three years.

He said that could leave education in a precarious position if an economic downturn hits the state.

LET'S MAKE A DEAL

Napolitano wasn't happy about the vouchers, but compromise is key, especially when working with politicians who vehemently disagreed with paying for full-day kindergarten, said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, the governor's spokeswoman.

Trading off $5 million in vouchers for $100 million for teacher salaries was worth it, she said.

"(Napolitano) doesn't like vouchers, and that has not changed her position," L'Ecuyer said. "She did not want to go that route. But . . . to get (more funding) for public education, she had to give in on a couple of issues."

Some public education advocates don't mind.

"I think it's a good budget overall. I think school choice is a good thing," said Brian Smith, a father and member of the Kyrene Parent Network in the Kyrene Elementary School District. "I'm a public school parent, but I think competition is good."

More important to him, he said, was the successful implementation of full-day kindergarten.

Wright, however, pointed out that while the budget provides more funding for full-day kindergarten, it does not include the capital funding for building more kindergarten classrooms.

Rep. John Allen, RScottsdale, said critics are wrong to look at the budget as a winner-take-all issue, and that students at both public and private schools will benefit.

"The vouchers weren't taking money away from the public school system. We weren't going to spend more money on there in the first place," said Allen, a member of the House Education Committee. "That's like saying that spending money on border defense or light rail takes money away from public education. I'm not of that mind-set."

Darcy Olsen, president of the Goldwater Institute, which lobbied for the vouchers, said it's a shame that some people are using the issue to pit the public school system against private schools.

"This is about students, not systems," she said. "It's not whether we fund private schools, public schools or some combination. Grant money goes directly to students."

She said the foster child voucher program -- the first of its kind in the nation -- will provide stability for foster children.

"The average foster care child changes homes five times. That can also mean five schools," Olsen said. "This gives children in a constant state of impermanence the same schools, the same friends, the same teachers."

The vouchers caught some parents-turned-lobbyists like Amy Besing by surprise, though she is trying to focus on the silver lining for public schools.

"Talk about taking the good with the bad," said Besing, a mother and member of the Scottsdale Parent Council. "But any time you can, out of this Legislature . . . pull a couple million dollars for our schools, I think it's a good thing."

Tribune education editor CeCe Todd contributed to this report.

CONTACT WRITER:
(480) 970-2348 or afalkenhagen@aztrib.com

BY THE NUMBERS

Funding increases for public schools: $5 million

For special education: $5 million

For transportation

Funding increases for private schools: $2.5 million

For private school vouchers for students with disabilities: $2.5 million

For private school vouchers for foster children

Source: Arizona Association of School Business Officials

Copyright (c) 2006, The Tribune, Mesa, Ariz.

Letter from AEA President John Wright:

2006 Education Budget
June 21, 2006

LINK

Dear Colleagues,

Despite the accounts that education “won” with the passage of the state budget, we have precious little to celebrate and every reason to question the agreement reached by Governor Janet Napolitano, President Ken Bennett, and Speaker Jim Weiers.

The Arizona Education Association opposes this budget and takes offense that it was negotiated in secrecy, voted on in the middle of the night, and that educators were not consulted about, or alerted to, the inclusion of vouchers.

Specifically, Arizona is looking at more than $1.5 billion in lost revenue over the next three years, the continued expansion of corporate tax credits for private schools, and the inclusion of two new school voucher programs.

In exchange, public education received:

• Pay package: $100M to provide salary and benefit increases for school district and charter school non-administrative personnel.

• Full-day kindergarten: There is a two-year phase in plan - $80M in new dollars for FY07 (school year 06-07) and an additional $80M next fiscal year (FY08). However, there is no funding for capital. Districts must use their own money for full-day kindergarten classrooms.

This deal is not worth the damage to the economic infrastructure of our state.

Given an enormous revenue surplus this year, Arizona could have made significant educational strides. Instead, this budget – with its enormous, permanent loss of revenue – represents a monumental missed opportunity. The tax cuts, along with the inclusion of tax credits, and vouchers jeopardize public education funding for the future and sabotage the potential to build a stronger Arizona.

Tax credits and vouchers violate AEA’s core principles and values. Taxpayer dollars must not be used to subsidize private and religious schools. There is a fine line between expanding school choice and advancing a deliberate attack on public school funding. Expanding tax credits and adding vouchers clearly crosses that line and contradicts the Governor’s commitment to public education. Even after meeting with her in person, I am not convinced that it was a necessary concession for the budget package.

There will be more to come, no doubt. The AEA will keep you informed of further developments in this bittersweet turn of events for school funding and the changing-tide for public school policies in Arizona.

Sincerely,

John Wright