The information below was compiled by a committee of DFA members and Maricopa County PC’s and staff members.
EDUCATION
Although no one should be quoting statistics, here is some information to remember when talking about the Arizona legislature – the Republicans who have run our state for the last 40 years. The Republicans keep giving tax cuts to corporations and the richest amongst us while cutting school funding and destroying our “rainy day fund”.
Business goes where Education grows
- Business relocations: Chief among current reasons for relocation is the need for a suitable work force – a need for qualified workers for some occupations, especially those requiring technical expertise.
K-12 Education Per Pupil Funding
- Arizona ranks 50th in the nation in any fair comparison of per pupil spending.
- Arizona spends $6,248 per pupil (2006-07), $3,000 less than the national average of $9,389.
- Every national ranking of per pupil funding consistently shows Arizona at or near the bottom of the 50 states.
- From 1986-87 through 2006-07, Arizona’s percentage change in expenditure per pupil has been -0.96%, while nationally it was 36.56%. This means that Arizona has actually decreased its relative per pupil funding while other states have increased their expenditures.
Source: American Legislative Exchange Council Report Card on American Education, 2006-07 figures.
K-12 Education Employee Salaries
- Arizona ranks 36th in the nation for public school teacher salaries with a teacher salary average more than $6,500 below the national average.
- Arizona ranks 44th in the nation for public school instructional staff salaries with a salary average almost $9,000 below the national average
Public school teachers comprise elementary school and secondary school classroom teachers. The most recent data available is available from the National Education Association – NEA Ranking of the States 2008.
Instructional staff comprises teachers, principals, supervisors, librarians, guidance and psychological personal, and related instructional workers.
Source: National Education Association Ranking of the States, 2008
Class Size
- Arizona’s class size average is second highest in the nation, with an average of 24.2 students per class, compared to a national average of 15.3.
- Arizona is one of only four states in the nation that have increased class sizes over the last ten years.
- Arizona increased its class size average 31.72% over the last 20 years, while the nationwide average fell 11.9% over the same time period.
Source: American Legislative Exchange Council Report Card on American Education, 2006-07 figures.
Student Enrollment Growth
- Arizona ranks second in the nation for percentage increase in public school enrollment, far outpacing the national average.
- Arizona’s Average Daily Membership (ADM) has increased from 840,130 in school year 1999-2000 to 1,044,785 in school year 2007-08.
Source: Annual Report of the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 and NEA Ranking of the States, 2008
Arizona K-12 Test Scores
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP):
Arizona’s national rank for 2007 NAEP Scores in given content areas and grade levels:
Grade 4 Mathematics Rank, 44
Grade 4 Reading Rank, 47
Grade 8 Mathematics Rank, 37
Grade 8 Reading Rank, 42
ACT and SAT (Scores for Arizona’s college-bound high school students)
The ACT and SAT exams are “self-proscribed” tests taken primarily by the highest achievers in the student population. ACT (2008)
Arizona’s ACT 2008 Composite Score ranks 21st in the nation.
Arizona’s SAT Composite Score ranks 31st in the nation.
Arizona’s student participation rates for the ACT and SAT exams are among the lowest in the nation.
Source: ALEC – American Legislative Exchange Council Report Card on American Education
Less than half of Arizona’s public high school graduates qualify academically to enroll in public universities.
Among every 100 Arizona 9th graders, only 17 will graduate from college on time.
Arizona spends 2.9 times as much per prisoner as public school student.
Over 80% of prison inmates in Arizona are high school dropouts.
Arizona’s rate on incarceration is now the highest among the 13 western states.
Source: Jason Williams, “Arizona Math” flyer
EDUCATION: SCHOOL OR PRISON
According to the AZ. Dept. of Corrections, the current cost per inmate is $61.74 per day: This amounts to $22,535 a year. In contrast, Arizona spends $6,248 per pupil per year for education.
The amount we spend per pupil has decreased slightly since 1986; however the prison budget has increased more than sixfold in that same time period. In 1986 it was $128 million; it is now $804 million.
Many inmates in jail or prison could be supervised in the community on probation or parole; DOC estimates the cost per day of community supervision at $7.98. In probation there are so many degrees of supervision that for low level offenders the cost can be as low as 99 cents a day. In addition, drug courts, intensive probation programs, meaningful restitution payments, community service, and court fees contribute to rehabilitation.
ANSWERS TO REPUBLICAN TALKING POINTS
JOBS: Republican budgets and tax cuts for the rich has cost us jobs. Obama’s Recovery Act (“the Stimulus Bill”) has greatly slowed job losses. Under Bush, we were losing jobs at the rate of 700,000 per month. Now it’s down to 20,000 per month {check for latest figures} and is expected to become a net gain by the Spring. Republicans delayed extensions in unemployment benefits for those who lost jobs.
ECONOMY: We are out of the Bush Recession. We have now had 3 quarters of GDP gains under Obama. (+5.9% gain last quarter). Jobs take longer to come back, because employers are reluctant to hire full-time employees right away (They make the present employees work more and more, authorize some overtime if need be, hire temporary employees, then finally draw up job requirements and begin to hire). Under George Bush, employers were encouraged with tax breaks to ship jobs and corporate headquarters oversees. Even Dick Cheney’s company (Halliburton) relocated to the U.A.E.
TAXES: Taxes have been cut for average Americans and for small business. Only the tax cuts for the very rich under George Bush will be allowed to expire. In addition if Obama administration improvements to healthcare and insurance are enacted, most of the public can expect cuts in healthcare premiums. Many costs now shifted to taxpayers, such as emergency rooms and Medicaid will drop.
EDUCATION: Education have been allowed to deteriorate under Republican legislatures in Arizona and nationally, “No Child Left Behind” was underfunded. Republicans keep cutting. Other States invest in education more than we do. Education brings in highly paid jobs—high tech, medicine and highly-skilled manufacturing. Stop tax giveaways and fund education. We are spending three times as much on prisoners as on students.
BANKS: Most money lent to them have been recovered. More is being repaid, and big bonuses are being taxed heavily.
IMMIGRATION: We have an illegal EMPLOYER problem. Also, border security has been strengthened. Enforcement doesn’t work (even Joe Arpaio says this). We shouldn’t be cutting police and making immigration sweeps instead of finding real criminals (40,000 criminal warrants going unserved by the Sheriff’s Office).
Arizona has to work with the Federal government to solve immigration problems. A possible solution could be work centers located near the Mexican border. These would track temporary workers, refer them to jobs and be paid for by the immigrants (less than the $3,500 they now pay “coyotes” to sneak into the country).
NATIONAL SECURITY: Many attempted terrorist attacks have been stopped, none has been successful under Obama. Under Bush, 9/11 occurred in spite of over 50 documented warnings within his administration. Wasteful spending on border protection technology that doesn’t work is being eliminated, and improved technology is being sought.
VETERANS: Benefits were cut under Bush, increased under Obama. VA hospitals went underfunded under Bush, so that some conditions became frightful.
GUNS: Democrats have not taken away any guns and don’t intend to. The only guns taken away in recent years was by Blackwater, George Bush’s private army.
GAYS: We are losing many valuable intelligence agents and military personnel by discriminating against gays. Obama wants to retain these valuable people by eliminating “don’t ask, don’t tell” and he is backed by the top generals.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS/ABORTION: These are often highly emotional issues. There is room in the Democratic Party for all sides. Abortions should be safe and rare. Abortion rates went up under Bush, because of poorer sex education under his administration.
Obama has signed into law (Ledbettter Law) more equal pay for women. Legislation has been passed to prevent corporations from covering up rape and mistreatment of women overseas. Most Republicans, including John McCain, voted to allow corporations to get away with this mistreatment.
SOCIAL SECURITY: Social Security is not going broke and can never be broke because money is constantly coming into it from workers. If nothing is done, the worst case is that around 2042 benefits would have to be cut by about 25% according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). To make sure that doesn’t happen, benefits will not be cut but Social Security will be fully funded by taxing the highest income levels.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, GLENN BECK, etc.: These are entertainers, not accurate sources of information. They have learned to be extreme, and as long as it supports the big corporations, they will be well paid. They will distort the facts and repeatedly lie to cater to their corporate masters. Anyone who threatens the profits of their masters will be attacked and slandered, and their audience encouraged to violence.
