Arizona budget signed but battle continues for 1 lawmaker
Mar 17, 2015, 6:11 AM | Updated: 6:41 am
PHOENIX — An Arizona lawmaker is pushing back against the state’s 2016 budget, even though it was signed last week by Gov. Doug Ducey.
“The governor has been speaking out a lot lately about how this budget is pro-education and classrooms-first, but we are here to say that this is actually not the case,” Sen. Martin Quezada (D-Phoenix) said.
The Democratic lawmaker said the more than 100 million dollars in cuts to non-classroom funding could lead to dozens of school librarians, counselors and coaches losing their jobs.
“These are people that are supporting kids in the classroom and allowing them to be prepared to go into the classroom and be successful,” he said.
He said schools can also expect cuts to teacher’s salaries and larger classroom sizes, but believes Arizona students will suffer the most.
“This is going to have a very detrimental impact in our classrooms. It’s having a very detrimental impact on the students in those classrooms and our teachers who we are struggling to keep in our school districts,” he said.
Quezada said he hopes the state Legislature will find a way to limit the damage he believes the budget will cause before schools are impacted.