George Orwell would be proud: Gov. Ducey cuts school budgets and calls it an increase
It's no secret that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
sucked up to the Koch boys and took piles of their cash, along with other outside dark money. He's following the playbook scripted by Wisconsin's Scott Walker, which will finish the job Jan Brewer started: less money for public schools and higher education, huge cuts in social programs, increasing attacks on teachers and other public sector employees, giveaways to the one percenters and corporations, muggings of our majestic public lands, assaults on voting rights, more abortion and LGBT restrictions, and more and more crappy minimum-wage jobs (a wage, of course, they will fight
not to increase).
Brewer left the state with a $520 million deficit this year, it's projected to be more than $1 billion next year, and Ducey's solution is: More tax "adjustments" that benefit the rich and corporations. Because it worked so well the last time.
Natch, another Ducey solution is more cuts to public schools and higher ed, at the same time he increases the private prison budget. Our universities have been sliced and diced more than any other state in the nation over the last eight years, and Ducey is continuing the assault, with another $75 million cut this year, representing 10 percent of the universities' revenue.
More of the ugly over the bump.
Gov. Ducey's been bragging up his $72 million "increase" to K-12, but as more than a few school superintendents have pointed out, it's a "rob Peter to pay Paul" budgetary shenanigan. Last year a judge ordered the state to shell out $317 million that the schools were shortchanged during the recession. Ducey refuses to comply and instead trumpets his big $72 million "increase," a fraction of what the districts are owed. On top of that, this supposed additional money comes from eliminating two other funding sources! The upshot of this shell game is that most districts' budgets are flat, when Arizona's funding is already $3,293 less per student than the $6,520 national average.
So, let's say you're the superintendent of a school district faced with these continuing onslaughts, at the same time student populations increase. If you're like 233 superintendents in Arizona, you send a letter to the legislature warning them of the dire consequences of adopting Gov. Ducey's budget:
As public school leaders throughout Arizona, we are deeply concerned with the Executive Budget Proposal put forth by Governor Ducey. For the past six years, in order to balance the state budget, the majority of Arizona’s classrooms have been shortchanged by the actions of our elected officials. During this time, classroom teachers, principals and district leaders have been burdened with ever increasing requirements that further erode the instructional time and direct services available to our classrooms. To this end, we ask you to adopt a budget that does not cut funding to K-12 district schools.
Perhaps, like Mesa school chief Dr. Michael Cowan, you speak out more boldly, given that you run the largest district in the state. Here is what Dr. Cowan wrote in
a letter after Ducey released his budget:
"You might have read or heard that Governor Ducey wants to 'protect the classroom,'" Cowan said in an email and letter to parents and district staff two weeks ago. "But that's not accurate."
Uh-oh! Remember that dark money that helped elect Doug Ducey? More than $2 million of it came from Sean Noble, a well-known political operative who is president of
American Encore, a Koch-funded group "that funneled more than $182 million in undisclosed donations to right-wing advocacy groups from 2009 to 2012." Last week American Encore started making
robocalls to citizens in Mesa, smearing Cowan with the lie that "nearly two-thirds of Mesa's education dollars never reach the classroom." Further, Mesa taxpayers should be outraged, and call Dr. Cowan's office (number provided) to demand he support the governor's budget.
And all of this is being done with the approval of Gov. Ducey, who knew about the robocalls before they were made.
Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday defended robocalls by a "dark money" supporter that attacked Mesa's school superintendent, contending that no laws were violated when the supporter gave him a head's up about the calls.
It appears American Encore will have a lot of robocalls to make, since 233 school superintendents signed the letter that was sent to the legislature, and several are
speaking out publicly, urging elected officials and citizens to oppose the governor's budget.
And they are.