Gov. Doug Ducey: ‘No bait-and-switch’ in school funding plan
Jun 10, 2015, 4:43 PM | Updated: 4:44 pm
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said there is “no smoke and mirrors, no bait-and-switch” in his plan to use a state land trust to fund education.
Ducey’s proposal would funnel about $1.8 billion in new cash into the state’s schools over five years and smaller amounts in the following five years.
“If you take the amount of state land in addition to the cash we have, it’s over $70 billion in value and we need resources in education,” he told KTAR News’ Mac & Gaydos on Wednesday.
Schools would get about a $300 boost to the $3,400 per student they now get each year without additional taxpayer money. The plan would require voter approval.
“This is the maximum amount that’s politically possible to put forward for our school system,” Ducey said.
The governor said it would fall upon his office to make sure the money is used for education and that he would not sign off on a budget that would threaten school funding.
The state land department manages about 9.2 million acres Arizona got when it became a state. The land is held in trust to provide revenue for K-12 schools and 12 other beneficiaries, and proceeds from sales are put into a trust account.
The permanent land trust account is projected to hit $7.6 billion by 2020 if no changes are made.
By law, 2.5 percent of the cash is sent annually to schools, about $80 million in the current budget year. Ducey’s plan calls for that to be increased to 10 percent for five years, then 5 percent for the following five years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
