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Confusion abounds over Ducey’s public-school performance pay plan
Gov. Doug Ducey’s signature results-based funding plan for excelling schools still has districts questioning when they will receive money and how exactly it must be spent.
Public schools opt for teacher bonuses instead of pay increases
School officials say they won’t count on ongoing funding to boost teacher pay until they see it. So instead of increasing teachers’ base salaries, some schools are preparing to make a lump sum payment to teachers in the amount of 1 percent of their salaries.
JLBC concludes voucher expansion will increase costs to state
Making vouchers universally available to pay for all children to attend private and parochial schools will actually increase costs to the state according to a legislative budget analysis.
‘Invisible space’ may block funding for new schools
Gov. Doug Ducey is looking to maintain the status quo in the in the face of a proposed policy change in the budget that would make it far more difficult for overcrowded school districts to get state funding to expand.
JLBC members question McKay’s absence
Joint Legislative Budget Committee members questioned why they were hearing from Michael Dellner, operations chief at the Department of Child Safety, rather than Greg McKay, the agency’s director, since the Dec. 15 meeting had been on the calendar for weeks.
Lawmakers admonish Department of Child Safety
Arizona lawmakers voted to rebuke the Department of Child Safety on Tuesday afternoon, a striking statement against an agency that has struggled to impress the legislators who created it over a year ago.
Democrats offer plan to raise $4 billion for education
In response to education funding plans proposed by the governor and legislative Republicans, Democrats today released their own school funding plan, boasting that their proposal would raise nearly $4 billion dollars over 10 years without increasing taxes.
Arizona reports budget surplus after taxes
Arizona ended the budget year with a $266 million surplus, a stark contrast from the $132 million deficit lawmakers had planned for.
GOP lawmakers divided over what to do with revenue windfall
When lawmakers approved the state budget in March, they were staring at low revenue expectations and a deficit that forced them to make large, unpopular cuts from higher education, social services and other government programs.
JLBC says Education Department erred in calculating charter school funding cuts
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee on Friday revised its estimate for cuts to funding for small charter schools and said the Department of Education is wrong in its interpretation of legislation establishing the reduction.
Nest eggs: Governor, Legislature sat on millions during budget cuts
Gov. Doug Ducey and Republican lawmakers like to talk about the hard decisions they had to make regarding where to cut the state budget. But when it comes to their own portions of the state budget, they didn’t cut a dime.
Bump in state revenues could be offset by new law
The state’s ending balance in fiscal 2016 could be better than the Legislature predicted when it adopted a budget in March, unless Gov. Doug Ducey signs a bill conforming state business taxes to the federal standards.
