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Land Department lawsuit to be dismissed
The Attorney General’s Office and the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest have jointly agreed to dismiss a lawsuit over a self-funding proposal for the Land Department after the state agreed to preserve the group’s ability to re-file the lawsuit after next year’s election.
Gowan pursues House renovations despite GOP revolt
Reaction was quick and decisive when House Republicans learned of Speaker David Gowan’s plans for a second large-scale renovation of the chamber in the past six months.
Apparently, the Speaker’s the last to know
Gowan has been hosting meetings with the Republicans who signed the letter decrying his “excessive spending” and said the outrage they have expressed anonymously in this publication and in Republic columns isn’t reflected in those meetings, which haven’t been “heavy.” Asked if the plan for construction in the House is still on, Gowan at first backtracked, saying he didn’t even know t[...]
Experts: Funding, staffing cuts undermining state’s water agency
In Arizona, there is hardly a more precious resource than water. That’s why some water experts point with alarm to deep cuts in funding and staffing at the state agency tasked with overseeing it, especially after years of drought and with a shortage looming on the Colorado River.
Proposals to raise student costs meet little opposition at hearing
Issac Ortega, president of Associated Student of the University of Arizona, says students don’t relish the idea of having to spend more on a college education after deep state funding cuts to universities.
Economy delivers good news for schools and teachers
Higher than expected sales-tax revenues and land-trust earnings have public-school leaders smiling for the first time in a long time. The Classroom Site Fund, which is earmarked mostly for teacher salaries, is projected to earn $47.4 million more in FY16 than in previous years.
University budget cuts: Numbers from JLBC and other sources reflect a harsher reality
Gov. Doug Ducey and Republican lawmakers have boasted their budget includes more spending on education than ever in Arizona’s history. But the numbers behind the cuts to higher education paint a different picture for the state’s university system and community colleges.
The plan is to wait for the plan
The governor’s office today (March 17) insisted that there’s no immediate need for additional legislation this year to start implementing Ducey’s Access Our Best Public Schools Fund, under which members of a new achievement district have access to $24 million to construct new schools or expand existing facilities.
New legislation not needed for achievement district, Ninth Floor says
Now that the budget includes $24 million for Gov. Doug Ducey’s Arizona Public School Achievement District plan, the Ninth Floor said no additional legislation is needed for the governor to put his marquee education plan into action.
Ducey says new charter school loan program details coming
Legislation implementing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's plan to use state cash to back loans taken out by charter schools is still being polished, despite his budget including $24 million for the plan, he said Monday.
Classrooms first: School officials say rhetoric doesn’t match budget reality
Many school district officials and education leaders say Gov. Doug Ducey’s “Classrooms First” slogan and the oft-repeated boast that Arizona will spend more than ever on K-12 education next year are misleading and don’t reflect how budget cuts will affect schools in 2016.
View of the budget from Osborn School District
For political insiders, crafting the state’s spending plan is a spectacle – a final meeting of the minds after a period of high drama, backroom wheeling and dealing, and rushing to put together the final pieces of a $9 billion jigsaw puzzle.
