Infrastructure bill gives Sinema bipartisan victory
Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has faced unrelenting tension with activists in her party over her insistence that bipartisan deal-making is still the way to do big things during a hyper-partisan era in Washington.
GOP budget maneuvers anger educators
Public school advocates’ frustrations with the state budget go beyond Gov. Doug Ducey’s tax plan – the rebirth of zombie bills and expansion of empowerment scholarship account eligibility are an added blow to groups that say the Legislature should prioritize traditional public education.
Schools gear up for next year, budgeting federal aid
As teachers, students and their families eagerly wait to hear when they will return to the classroom, education policy wonks, advocates and school districts are trying to figure out how they’ll spend coming federal money.
Dana Naimark: Growing Children’s Action Alliance
Dana Naimark spent the past 27 years at Children’s Action Alliance, where she has long served as president and CEO of the organization dedicated to advocating for kids’ issues at the Arizona Capitol and beyond.
It’s time for real financial plan for Arizona schools
Today, Arizonans are excited to fuel higher pay for teachers and all the other educators who support our students. Instead of pretending we can move forward without new funding, our leaders should establish a dedicated and sustainable way to pay for what we value so highly.
Senate president ready to pull key provision from tax credit bill
Senate President Steve Yarbrough threatened to strip a key provision out of a bill that would severely reduce the annual growth of a tax credit for private school scholarships.
Yarbrough bill to curb STO tax credits called ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’
A Republican proposal to end the dramatic annual growth of tax credits for private school scholarships also expands access to those scholarships in ways that makes public school advocates wary.
Senate president sees tricky course to rein in tuition tax credit
Altering a cap on corporate tax credits for private school scholarships will require a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of the Arizona Legislature.
Educators present plan to fund public schools without raising taxes
Hoping to set the agenda, a coalition of educators and others laid out options that could generate more than $950 million for education this coming year, all without a general hike in sales taxes.
Dana Naimark
Few have met someone more prepared for "every contingency" than Dana Naimark, president and CEO of Children’s Action Alliance. It's among the reasons why she's so successful.
Arizona poverty remains among highest in nation despite recent improvements
Despite posting a sharp decrease in its poverty rate over the last two years, Arizona continued to have some of the highest poverty in the nation in 2016, the latest Census numbers show.
McCain and Ducey know Cassidy-Graham health plan another danger to Arizonans
Ducey should know this bill would mean a reversal on his promise and McCain understands that without engagement with Democrats and stakeholders in the health care world, this proposal offers the same failed plan just with a different name. Parents and grandparents, people with disabilities, seniors and working adults, hospitals and physicians all reject this misguided approach. Arizona leaders s[...]