Business leaders are advocating for a permanent expansion of a sales tax that funds public schools by nearly three times the current amount.

As the Arizona superintendent of public instruction, I have traveled around the state three times on my annual “We Are Listening Tours.” These tours give fellow Arizonans the opportunity to tell me what’s going right, what’s going wrong and the ...

Arizona schools won't be forced to use some of their annual inflation aid for teacher raises.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas is advocating for a permanent extension and expansion of Proposition 301, a sales tax to fund public education that expires after 2020.

The difference between a good joke and a bad one is timing. The same could be said for a ballot measure that would extend or possibly raise taxes.

Gov. Doug Ducey is finally willing to talk about keeping public schools from falling off a financial cliff after 2020. And it involves a word at which he normally blanches: taxes.

Daniel Scarpinato, the governor’s spokesman, said Gov. Doug Ducey is open to the timing of getting a measure on the ballot and other ideas for altering the tax, including expanding it, based on discussions with the education and business communities.

Some education advocates, like myself, feel a strong sense of urgency. After all, each year that a child can’t read creates lasting impacts for them, their family, and ultimately, the state’s economy. We constantly hear that clock ticking.

Gov. Doug Ducey’s robust K-12 public schools agenda for the 2017 Legislature left the various interest groups of the education establishment thrilled, yet calling for longer-term solutions to Arizona’s education woes.

Several House Republicans told our reporter that, during the small group meetings two weeks ago to unveil the Biggs-Gowan four-point education plan, the unsustainability of Prop 301 was heavily discussed, but the ideal of repealing the inflation funding requirement was only alluded to.