Phoenix, AZ 85007. email: [email protected] Parents are best suited to make decisions about their childs education. Which states are hurting the most when it comes to teacher How To Work With Our Editorial Department. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Districts based their budgets on money the Legislature already approved. Thats a death rate of 0.02%. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. There are solutions already introduced as bills thanks to Representative Jennifer Pawlik and Senator Christine Marsh -- I urge the majority party to act immediately and allow our schools to get on with serving their students and families.. Hoffman said without suspending the aggregate expenditure limit, schools are at risk of further budget cuts, which would ultimately result in more bus driver shortages, more teacher layoffs, and the loss of academic and extracurricular programs, if not the complete closure of some schools. This is a lie. For more than a decade the Legislatures failure to invest properly in our schools has resulted in such a severe teacher shortage that more than20% of our students dont have a permanent, qualified teacher in their classroom. The deadline for a decision is March 1. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Berry said she and fellow financial officers of neighboring school districts dont know where the money from the budgets will go if the Legislature doesnt override the cap. Email covid.edu@azcir.org, or contact AZCIRs reporters: Which school districts have mask mandates in place? Budget documents show that Chandler schools would lose more than $54 million. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. According to Education Forward Arizona, the Legislature last overrode the gap in 2007 and 2008. Gov. The economic estimates commission shall determine and publish prior to May 1 of each year the aggregate expenditure limitation for all school districts for the following fiscal year. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Its going to be very, very hard to do.. Look at Mesa Unified School District up in the Phoenix area, theyd have to cut $78 million, or TUSD with $58 million, Marana with about $15 million, Amphi with $14 million, he said. What that means immediately is that educators can lose their jobs starting April 1, programs can be canceled starting April 1, and class sizes can expand starting April 1, Garcia said. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. A lot of those kids are now back in school, but thats affecting the limit by about $300 million, he said. We already see it in the number of employers frustrated by the lack of qualified workers. Arizona's schools may be forced to shut down as early as April 1 this spring. The money would go towards teacher salaries and schools. PHOENIX (AP) Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema reported raising just over $2.1 million in her first full fundraising quarter since leaving the Democratic Party, a smaller haul than the $3.7 million raised by Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is hoping to win her seat in 2024. It allows people to lift themselves out of poverty. (Video by John Brown/Cronkite News) PHOENIX - The clock is running out for state legislators to override a cap on spending that would prohibit Arizona public school districts from disbursing nearly $1.2 billion that's already been approved by the Legislature and budgeted. Coconino County publishes a COVID-19 school update every Friday that summarizes case rate and percent positivity at district level. But unvaccinated people, for the most part, choose to remain unprotected, relying on horse dewormer or voodoo or whatever it is they substitute for science. These efforts are crucial, and we recognize that schools are making every effort possible to continue providing instruction during closures. In the past, when districts hit the decades-old aggregate expenditure limit, lawmakers voted to override it which hasn't . Edwards, who graduated from ASU in 2021, has interned with Phoenix New Times, Phoenix Magazine and Crime and Justice News. Gov. They have not overspent. However, this wont just affect families with school-age children. Reassign students to Challenger or Don . Michael Tubbs, once the youngest mayor of a major American city, to address UArizona graduates at Commencement. This limitation excludes charter schools and only applies to district public schools. She is working for the Phoenix news bureau. The biggest threat of widespread school closures comes not from the virus, but a school finance relic from 1980s, she said. We need an override by the Legislature, and then we need to fix it for the future.. 2023 Cronkite News. Then stop playing politics with our children and follow your own advice. Lana Berry, the chief financial officer of Chandler Unified School District, said schools have the money, they just need the authorization from the Legislature to spend it. "[State Senator Ken Bennett], the chairman of the Education Committee here in the Senate, will have that legislation to override the AEL for this coming year,". Published: Feb. 8, 2022 at 5:11 PM PST. Politics, cell towers and hate speech: Why 3 more superintendents are Florida schools move closer to a 12-month school year. Mind you we already have a severe teacher and staff shortage at this point, said Margaret Cheney, the president of the Tucson Education Association. Do students and staff have to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID in schools? Two years ago, most of society shut down in the face of a deadly virus we knew little about and couldnt defend against. In a news release, Ducey, alongside . Although the money from the proposition will go toward public education, Essigs said not one penny of that money is in this years budget., That money will not start showing up until next year, he said. We have two choices: to allow schools to shut down on a technicality, or to usher them into the 21st century so our entire state can thrive. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. She said, for example, the Washington Elementary School District would lose over $25 million, Miami Unified School District would lose nearly $2 million, and Deer Valley Unified School District would lose more than $36 million. Superintendent Hoffman is also asking lawmakers to pass a bill that would ultimately repeal the spending cap, avoiding a showdown like this one, again. The district provided no in-person classes from March 2020 through the end of the . The aggregate expenditures of local revenues for all school districts shall not exceed the limitation prescribed in this section. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Matt Zalaznick is a life-long journalist. Two-thirds of each house of the legislature would need to vote on a concurrent resolution to approve the excess spending. The spending cap does not affect public charter schools, which educate about 240,000 K-12 students. On Aug. 16, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled the ban therefore would not take effect until Sept. 29. A spending limit set 40 years ago doesnt work today. "Back then in '80, we had schoolbooks and chalkboards and all kinds of things that didn't cost near as much.". Gov. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Consequently, this list will no longer be updated unless case rates again force a substantial number of schools to close. While this isnt the outcome any of us wanted, we are grateful for the partnership of schools around the state, who have stepped up to offer virtual and take-home learning opportunities for our students. It reduces the burden on taxpayers and improves the economy for all of us. So that cash will just sit there, we believe.. And students are still trying to recover from the impact of COVID-induced learning interruptions. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Sara Edwards expects to graduate in May 2022 with a masters degree focused on business journalism. The issue of the funding cap has nothing to do with COVID-19, masks, or vaccines. Phase 2, 2022-2023. No schools were reported several weeks in January and February. That might mean cuts to labor forces meaning that our staff and teachers will get cut. Even so, that will only fix the problem for this spring. When does the states ban on school mask requirements take effect? Click to reveal Pima County tracks cases by school district. TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Arizona public schools face budget cuts of $1.2 billion dollars unless the state Legislature lifts the school spending cap by the end of the month. Maricopa County Department of Public Health, for example, recently began requiring students and staff who came in close contact of a known COVID-19 case to quarantine. Close your doors for even a day and you will pay. With out a fix to the school funding limit, schools will undoubtedly lay off educators, cut programs, and in the worst cases close their doors. Or search for your Arizona school district by name or zip: A L. M Z. Agua Fria Union High School District. "I think the community is really just frustrated and kind of sick of this because it feels almost like a political football game. 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Robbins announces changes to the future of University of Arizona's medical programs. Hannah must make his decision by March 10, after the deadline for the Legislature to override the spending cap, but Hannah said he could not pinpoint when he would rule., There are no ulterior motives, he told The Republic. What Ive heard from some Republicans is theyre waiting to hear about the court case on Prop 208 and the judge in that case says hes not going to expedite his ruling, she said. He has until March 10th.. The latest Arizona headlines, national news events of the day + sports and weather updates. 2023 Cronkite News. Anna Campbell expects to graduate in May 2023 with bachelors degrees in English and journalism and mass communication. Prior to writing for District Administration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Bridge Michigan, over 6% of the state's K-12 students missed at least one day of in-person classes this week due to COVID-related shutdowns. Get AZCIRs latest investigations and updates delivered straight into your inbox. It is adjusted each year to take into account inflation and the number of students who are enrolled. Maria Polletta is an investigative reporter for AZCIR focused on covering inequities in education. We saw what it did to our kids. Public schools in Atlanta, Georgia also marked August 4, 2021 as the first day of the 2021-2022 academic year. Arizona schools will remain closed through the end of the school year, Governor Doug Ducey and state Schools Chief Kathy Hoffman announced Monday morning. Arizona Association of School Business Officials, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report. 360 Hiatt Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418. Consequently, this list will no longer be updated unless case rates again force a substantial number of schools to close. Public school districts, mostly across the Northeast and Midwest, closed this week as the omicron variant of coronavirus surges following the winter break and the country's students face a mental . State health officials said there are now 1,157 known coronavirus cases and 20 deaths. "I originally planned to give a different speech today," she said. These cuts translate to $25 million for the Washington Elementary district, $43 million for Phoenix Union, and $58 million for Tucson Unified, just to name a few examples. It is a Constitutional Amendment that was passed by Arizona voters in 1980 which created a spending limitation for school districts based on the aggregate expenditure of all districts. Duceys wrong to use the pandemic as an excuse to expand school vouchers. It does not store any personal data. School closures and shifts to remote instruction are quickly becoming less common as COVID case rates drop in many states. Twenty-six Republican lawmakers have asked Ducey to withhold federal funding from and initiate legal action against any district that ignores the ban. Hoffman stressed the importance of school funding, saying in a written copy of her address, the biggest threat of widespread school closures comes not from the virus, but a school finance relic from 1980, the aggregate expenditure limit.. All rights reserved. During the 2021-2022 school year, public schools were staring at 16% across-the-board cuts, and looking at layoffs and school closings, according to education advocates. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Mental health breakdowns soared while academic achievement plummeted. First Name Last Name Email Please indicate your role in your school or district. Arizonas children lost precious years of childhood.

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