Would Prop 320 increase teacher pay or cut funding from schools?

Supporters and opponents of Proposition 320 debated Thursday night, arguing over whether the measure would bring more funding to teachers in the classroom or place districts in a situation that could result in the loss of essential funds.

Proposition 320 would require school districts with more than 7,500 students, as well as any district in Maricopa and Pinal counties to spend 60% of their budgets on classroom instruction.

If the measure passes, schools that are under the 60% mark would be required to increase classroom spending by 0.5% each year until they reach 60%. If there is no growth, the district would lose state funding.

Chris Thomas, director of legal strategy at the Goldwater Institute, argued during the Citizens Clean Elections Commission debate that the 60% benchmark would ultimately increase teacher pay because of the additional funding required to go toward classrooms.

“It’s up to the local district to decide how they’re going to do that and how they’re going to put those resources [to use]. It could be more money for teachers. It could also mean that there are more teachers that are hired and more aides that are hired so that you have a better teacher ratio,” he said.

Classroom instruction would be defined each year by the Arizona Auditor General, the same office that would track the amount of funding spent on classroom instruction.

Jimmy Arwood of Arizonans for Quality Education, a public education advocacy nonprofit, said the measure would force districts to cut classified employees and other non-classroom expenses, such as safety personnel and infrastructure funding, with the threat of larger funding cuts if districts don’t comply.

“There are no additional dollars for our classrooms guaranteed in this. But what is guaranteed is punishment. A punishment that is not defined until after the election and that punishment will cut teacher pay,” he said.

Currently, Arizona schools spend 52.1% of their budgets on classroom instruction, according to the latest report from the Arizona Auditor General. That’s the lowest percentage since tracking began in 2001.

Arwood said the quickest way to increase teacher pay and classroom funding is to put more money into schools at the state level.

“I can give you five school districts across the state of Arizona right now that meet the 60% threshold but are not above the state average in academics. And so, this is not a question about increasing academic proficiency, because once again, we’re cutting away things that can actually increase academic success,” he said, referring to school counselors who do not fall under the classroom instruction definition.

Thomas said Proposition 320 would allow districts time to work out how those cuts would be made so the loss of funding in other areas wouldn’t be abrupt.

“In the Phoenix Union School District, where they only put 47.3% in direct instruction, they would have 26 years to get to that 60%,” he said.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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