After making a large splash last spring, a plan to mandate how schools spend their money failed to make it on the ballot this fall and appears stalled, at least for the time being.
The plan — known as the 65 Cent Solution in a national effort to implement the plan on a state-by-state basis — would require a minimum of 65 percent of a school district’s operational expenditures be “in the classroom,” where they directly affect students.
Tim Mooney, a spokesman for First Class Education, the national group spearheading the effort across the country, said Arizona will be targeted in 2008. He said there were financial problems here when the group tried to push to get the initiative on the ballot for 2006.
“We got in a situation where the national group was giving more money than the local group,” he said.
John Wright, president of the Arizona Education Association, said the idea is bad public policy that will hurt schools. He said the lack of local funding for the initiative drive shows that Arizonans didn’t support it.
“I think there’s recognition among Arizona leaders that we didn’t want other people imposing their ideas on our state,” he said.
The plan was first launched in Arizona at a March 2005 press conference. At the time, Senate President Ken Bennett and House Speaker Jim Weiers said they had every intention of putting the issue on the 2006 ballot through the legislative referendum process that session, even though there was barely two weeks left before the deadline to hear bills in committee.
The proposal came under fire immediately from virtually all sides. The most damaging lack of support was from the Republican majority caucuses, largely because Mr. Bennett and Mr. Weiers had not informed caucus members of the plan before unveiling it. Most of the criticism was aimed at Mr. Bennett, who took the legislative lead on the issue and was featured in television commercials supporting the plan that began running three days after the press conference.
Some critics — namely, supporters of Governor Napolitano — said Mr. Bennett was using the issue as a platform to gain statewide exposure for a 2006 gubernatorial bid he never made.
Within a week’s time, the proposal was dead in the water.
“I stand before you embarrassed — things got out of hand,” Mr. Weiers told his caucus in an April 6 meeting, saying the plan would not move forward that session.