Yea or nay? Here’s what you need to know about Arizona’s Prop. 123
May 13, 2016, 12:52 PM | Updated: May 17, 2016, 11:20 am
(AP Photo/Nick Ut)
On May 17, Arizona voters will have their say on Proposition 123.
The ballot measure, if passed, would pump $3.5 billion into K-12 education over the next decade to settle a long-running lawsuit stemming from the state’s decision to raid school spending during the Great Recession. The settlement cash comes from $1.4 billion in general fund money and $2 billion from a state land trust.
Lawmakers felt the need to address the issue was so urgent that they called for a special election, slated for next week.
Prop. 123 may seem like a great idea on the surface, but as we all know, such ballot measures are never as simple as they seem.
Since the details of the proposition have been released, detractors have begun to criticize Prop. 123.
To help you make sense of all the madness, we’ve put together four articles we’ve published on the issue — two for, and two against — below.
Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes also hosted a roundtable on Friday with Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit, who is against Prop. 123, and Joe Thomas, the president-elect of the Arizona Education Association, who supports the measure.
You can listen to the roundtable above, while individual interviews with both DeWit and Thomas are below.
For Prop. 123
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s Democratic opponent in the 2014 governor’s race joined with him to support a voter referendum that will boost school funding (aka Prop. 123).
A proposition to pump more funding into Arizona schools has strong support as early voting gets underway, a poll showed.
Against Prop. 123
Arizona has a surplus of money on hand, already enough to fund schools. Prop. 123 is a second blank check we can’t afford to cash, writes Darin Damme.
A new report found that Arizona public schools will still be funded $863 million less than before the recession, even if Prop. 123 passes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.