Pot, meet kettle
Hobbs nixes “retribution” … New-ish voucher rules … And never stop learning.
State lawmakers were all set to punish school boards that get into financial trouble, not long after lawmakers blew a $2.5 billion budget surplus themselves, but Gov. Katie Hobbs put the kibosh on their plan yesterday.
Hobbs vetoed HB2610, which would have forced school board members to resign if their district was placed in receivership. The bill was an explicit reaction to the Isaac Elementary School District finding itself with a $20 million budget deficit late last year.
The bill earned bipartisan support, which Hobbs has said is a key factor in her veto decisions. But the bill also faced fierce headwinds from Democrats in the Senate and House, as well as the biggest teachers union in the state.
In her veto letter, Hobbs didn’t absolve the Isaac district governing board members. Instead, she called for their resignation, saying the “financial mismanagement” at the district was “unacceptable.”
But HB2610 “appears to seek broad retribution” instead of providing specific fixes, she wrote.
“Mandating the upheaval of an entire elected school board is blatant legislative overreach that would create disruption and confusion for school districts during times of crisis,” Hobbs wrote.
The district at the center of the debate, Isaac Elementary, mismanaged federal pandemic funds, state officials found, and ended up with a massive deficit. The district had to be bailed out by another district and placed in “receivership” by the state.1
Republican Rep. Matt Gress, the bill’s sponsor (and former school board member), argued on the House floor last week that the bill would “hold accountable school boards who run their districts into the ground.”
He pointed specifically to board members at the Isaac district, who he said acted “recklessly.”
The bill would have required school district officials to notify the Arizona Department of Education if they think their district is going to have serious financial problems, Gress explained.
If the district goes into receivership and the board didn’t notify state education officials about financial troubles beforehand, then “you’re fired,” he said.
The bill also would bar the “unlawful, shameful” arrangements like the one the Tolleson Union High School District made to bail out the Isaac district, Gress said.
Like Hobbs, Tucson Democratic Rep. Nancy Gutierrez called the bill “overreaching,” saying “it is not up to the Legislature to force a governing board member, or members in this case, to resign.”
The Arizona Education Association echoed that sentiment in a letter they sent to Hobbs on Friday.
“We oppose HB 2610 because it is a heavy-handed and punitive approach to the Isaac crisis that will have far-reaching consequences for Arizona schools,” the AEA’s letter states.
The AEA doesn’t support “removing the most-experienced district leaders against the wishes of the local community” or “allowing a partisan superintendent to override the will of the voters and appoint a full governing board.”
If Hobbs had signed the bill, the county superintendent would have been the one to appoint new school board members. And the county superintendent is a partisan, elected office, while school board elections are nonpartisan.
Democratic Rep. Lydia Hernandez, who voted to pass the bill, said the main problem at school districts was “mismanagement.”
She called for more accountability for school board members, while also noting that in the Cartwright School District — where she herself is a school board member — only 4% of students are proficient in reading.
The bill passed the House by a 39-20 vote, with the support of a half-dozen Democrats.
Democratic Rep. Cesar Aguilar raised a point on the House floor that probably occurred to a lot of people who watch the Legislature every year.
“Where's the bill for us legislators to be held accountable?” he said.
He pointed to the ballooning cost of the school voucher program, which is one of the biggest budget issues in Arizona.
“If we pass a budget where we're told that vouchers are going to cost less than a billion dollars, then we find out the year after that it's costing over a billion dollars, why aren't we getting fired from our jobs?” Aguilar asked.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are still haggling over the state budget, including funding for education.
Whatever lawmakers decide will determine a big portion of local school districts’ budgets for the coming year.
And that money could go a long way toward helping school districts avoid running into financial trouble in the first place.
You know what would help us avoid getting into financial trouble? Clicking that button and subscribing!
No limits: The Arizona State Board of Education finally approved a new handbook for the school voucher program, ABC15’s Elenee Dao reports. The board faced pushback from parents whose children use the vouchers, mostly because state officials were trying to limit what parents could spend voucher money on. Those limits are not in the new handbook, but the handbook does say state officials will review whether purchases are reasonable and related to education. Voucher-funded purchases are at the heart of the upcoming Republican primary battle between Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, who advocates for vouchers but with some restraint on spending, and Treasurer Kimberly Yee, who is campaigning on loosening the purse strings for the voucher program.
On the fast track: Amid a doctor shortage, the University of Arizona is offering a three-year medical degree, the Arizona Daily Star’s Prerana Sannappanavar reports. The Arizona Board of Regents approved the program last week for the UA’s medical schools in Tucson and Phoenix. UA officials say the program will boost the number of primary care physicians, while cutting down on student debt.
What does this have to do with education, Tom?: After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld laws that ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, Horne is urging state lawmakers to pass a similar law, KJZZ’s Bridget Dowd reports. Advocates for the transgender community say gender-affirming care cuts down on depression and improves mental health overall.
Painful cuts: The Tohono O’odham Community College has been teaching Indigenous students for 25 years, and its enrollment doubled in recent years. But most students depend on federal student aid and the proposed federal budget would cut nearly 90% of Tribal college funding, the Arizona Luminaria’s Shannon Conner reports.
“This proposed budget ends tribal colleges. There’s no other way to put it. We will close our doors,” said Tohono O’odham Community College President Stephen Schoonmaker.
More painful cuts: The proposed federal budget also would cut funding for free and reduced-price school lunches, AZFamily’s Sarah Robinson reported. A Laveen School District official said proposed cuts to SNAP and Medicaid would make it harder for low-income families to qualify for the lunch program. The Scottsdale Unified School District already decided to raise prices for lunches (but not for kids who qualify for free or reduced lunches) after federal pandemic money ran out.
Now that summer is upon us and most schools aren’t in session, we’re seeing a lot less news about students doing cool stuff.
So today we’re highlighting one way adults are getting educated. And it’s about as “adult” as it gets.
The Arizona Science Center offered “Nerdy & Naughty: A Night of Sexy Science” last Friday, the Phoenix New Times’ Jennifer Goldberg reported.
Attendees learned about the engineering behind sex toys, and men got to see what it’s like to have a uterus by strapping on a device that simulates period cramps. They also had sex-themed trivia and heard a talk by a sexuality counselor.
"By blending playful themes with real science, we’re able to explore topics like human biology, attraction and chemistry through a lens that’s both informative and entertaining," Chief of Science & Curiosity Sari Custer says.
Being placed in receivership essentially means a court appoints a bean counter to make all the major financial decisions for the district and dig it out of the hole, rather than leaving it up to the elected school board.