(The Center Square) – Despite Arizona’s Republican-led Legislature increasing per-student public school funding by more than $5,900 in the last decade, Democrats continue to point to rankings showing Arizona lagging behind the rest of the country when it comes to quality of education.
The latest example is a recent Consumer Affairs report, which combines a mixture of factors; K-12 performance, school funding and resources, higher education quality and safety. Arizona ranked last in the aggregate.
A JBLC K-12 funding report shows that funding allocated towards students has been steadily increasing, with an estimated $15,290 allocated in 2024 compared to $9,382 in the 2016 fiscal year.
Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, released a statement saying that this ranking is a direct result of Republican policies.
“While Arizona ranking last in public education is upsetting, it is not an accident,” reads her statement. “This is a direct result of Republican legislators enacting policies that cut public education funding, target vulnerable student populations, and target teachers, which further exacerbates the teacher shortage.”
The National Education Association, a national teachers union, ranks Arizona’s starting teacher salary of $44,124 as 21st in the nation. The union ranks the state’s average teacher salary of $60,275 as 32nd.
Republicans have defended their work for more adequate educational funding.
Sen. Ken Bennett, a Prescott Republican and chair of the Senate Education Committee, said that the way the Consumer Affairs report gave weight to the different components doesn’t make sense, noting that education funding should not be given the same weight as academic achievement. The report ranks Arizona’s K-12 funding as 50th in the nation and K-12 academic results as 40th in the nation.
“If we’re last in inputs, but 40th in outputs, then we’re actually getting a bang for our buck,” Bennett said.
Additionally, Bennett said that he would support a priority-based budgeting approach to education funding. He said that Arizona may not have to put more taxpayer dollars towards education, but might be able to use the money in the education budget more efficiently.
“I’m not interested in putting more money in it if [only] 15% of it is going to teachers,” Bennett said, noting that he would rather have districts prioritize funding what is most important to a child’s education – teachers – and limit the “red tape” that can get in the way, like schools having to file multiple financial reports.
Bennett noted that he proposed a bill that passed the Senate with bipartisan support but did not receive a hearing in the House. The bill would have made it so that school districts would only have to file one budget report instead of three and it wouldn’t be as extensive.
Republican Rep. Matt Gress, a former teacher, proposed a plan during the 2023 session that would have given a $10,000 raise to all teachers, called the “Pay Teachers First Plan.”
“Additionally, the plan requires school budgets to prioritize school funding for teachers first before any other spending can be budgeted – ensuring Arizona students receive the best education possible,” reads Gress’ summary of the plan.
The bill was held due to lack of support from the Democrats.
Bennett also pointed out that the report did not take into account Arizona’s ESA program which currently serves about 75,000 students. ESAs give parents the opportunity to use taxpayer dollars to fund their child’s education if they choose to not go to public school. Bennett noted one student’s mother he spoke to who used ESA money to get her daughter a dyslexia diagnosis which allowed her to receive specialized education.
“That mother on behalf of that daughter who now is going to have a successful foundation for the rest of her life, I don’t think she’s crying about what the Republicans did to her daughter,” Bennett said.
Sen. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, said that the ESA program is pulling necessary funds from public education. Additionally, she said that more money needs to be allocated towards education – however much it takes to create quality education.
“The percentage of the budget that it takes is far less important than educating our children well,” Epstein said. “Our Republican colleagues are balancing the budget on the backs of children.”
In addition to bills Bennett noted that were defeated due to Democratic opposition, House Bill 2400 would have provided funding for retired police officers to supplement state-funded school resource officers. Republicans said the measure would have gone far in shoring up public safety in schools, a criteria measure that contributed to Arizona’s low ranking in the Consumer Affairs report. It was held in the Senate after unanimously passing from the House. Senator Epstein voted against the measure in committee.
