With Our Children’s Future in Mind
By: Luis Avila, Education Advocate
For decades the topic of education has been one that politicians have used as a way to convince voters that they are the best person to represent us in this democracy. The topic is mentioned every election cycle, from the presidential hopefuls to the officials who don’t have anything to do with the subject, education is one topic that they all know we like to hear about.
When it comes to voting, especially Arizona voters have overwhelmingly supported education. Voters have approved measures to support early childhood education, teacher salaries, funding for schools and more. Also poll after poll shows that Arizonans main concern is always related to the quality of our schools, regardless of party affiliation, race or income.
This year, we have a chance to once again be the voice for one million children in Arizona. In our ballots, we will have the chance to decide if some school districts keep all-day kindergarten open for families, if we continue to strip away classes like arts and physical education and those who will represent our children’s voices in what can possibly be the most important years of reforms in our public education system.
This year, voting having our children’s best interest in mind is of the outmost importance. Let me explain it with three areas you should consider:
- Bonds and Overrides: Schools in Arizona receive funding from three main sources. Federal, which covers mostly support programs and specific uses like the Title 1 or Head Start. State, in this category, the Arizona legislature has cut school funding dramatically, leaving a big gap in school districts, taking away important programs such as all-day Kindergarten. And finally local, this is money from property taxes that go directly to schools’ stuff like buildings, books, buses, but also that can be used for teacher salaries, programs and to cover the cost of all-day kindergarten that elected officials took away. The Arizona legislature is pushing districts to go for overrides more often, asking voters to renew their commitment to education and continuing to direct part of their property taxes towards education. As voters supporting the future of our communities, we need to vote YES on bonds and overrides, particularly if the school district is improving academically
- Proposition 204: As I mentioned, the Arizona legislature has cut school funding dramatically in the last four years. According to studies Arizona ranks #1 in education cuts in the nation (http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20120904study-arizona-1st-in-cuts-schools.html), making us not only a place where education quality continues to be a challenge, but a place where new companies are not attracted to invest for the lack of educational opportunities for the families they might hire. Also, we all know that when education is not in the forefront of a community or its elected officials, it shows that our priorities are not focused on having a prepared workforce for the 21st century.
Prop 204 is not perfect, and many people have voiced concerns with its permanency, but overwhelmingly parents understand that if not approved, education in Arizona will continue to be in the back burner of elected officials, which in the last year have not shown any interest on investing in education and will continue to strip away some of the most fundamental support systems in schools, high quality teachers, competitive salaries for administrators that will stay in education rather than taking their skills to the private sector, reading programs and early childhood education and intervention. The Arizona legislature has not showed interest on improving the way that schools are funded, and I am afraid that the currency in this year’s Prop 204 will be trust. Voting YES will send a strong message to the legislature about voter’s mistrust on their priorities when it comes to education, Voting NO will deposit the future of our schools in a group of people who have not had the creativity or courage to tackle the issue of investing in the future of our state, once again.
- School Board Races: Possibly the least politicized level of government in our democracy is still school boards. Don’t get me wrong, we have many school board candidates and elected officials that use their positions for politics rather than policy, but we can still say that this group of volunteers are impacting the lives of thousands of children but are not in the limelight as other elected officials in other levels of government are. Just think about the last commercial or radio spot you have listened to talking about a school board candidate.
In the coming years we will see important changes in our schools. Over 45 states including Arizona will raise our academic standards to compare them and compete with other countries outperforming the United States. Teachers and principals will be evaluated in new ways including student achievement and personnel decisions will be made based on their performance. Students not reading at level on third grade will be held back another year and students not ready to enter college will not be accepted in some counties. Regardless what happens with Prop 204 or the overrides, most urban school districts are losing children to declining enrolment, families leaving Arizona, moving their kids to charter schools or private schools. The majority of the implementation of future policies and addressing the declining trust for public schools will be addressed by the people whom you are voting for this year for school board.
Please spend some time reading their views and if there are incumbents on the list, consider their past performance, the improvements or challenges of the district, and make sure you vote with our children’s interest at heart. This year, more than any other time in the past, school boards will be deciding the vibrancy of our communities and the achievement of our students.