I voted for Prop. 123 and I hate myself for doing it
May 17, 2016, 5:17 PM | Updated: May 18, 2016, 11:18 am
(AP Photo)
Well, I did it: I voted for this Proposition 123 nonsense.
And I hated voting yes!
Basically, I just placed a multibillion dollar bet that all will go as planned and teachers will actually get a raise because teachers deserve more money. Period.
Why was it a bet? Why was it a gamble?
Because we are dealing with our state legislators that have shown us that our vote doesn’t matter. They will do what they want.
Some politicians have completely IGNORED our state’s treasurer, who has been campaigning AGAINST Prop. 123, claiming that the money is there without having to raid our state land trust.
Yes, the man that has an eye on every dollar this state has in the bank is saying that we have the money without Prop. 123.
When pressed on that very issue Tuesday morning by KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes, Gov. Doug Ducey chose to dance AROUND the state of our coffers and move the discussion back to the land trust piggy bank.
Okay. Enough about the shady politicians. Back to the gamble.
There is NOTHING written into the proposition that guarantees teacher pay raises. The only thing guaranteeing that is false advertising that has been running, stating that if Prop. 123 passes, teachers get raises.
The fact is, only principals will be able to allocate those dollars to teacher raises if they chose to. Yes, only if THEY chose to.
Prop. 123 sounds a bit different when you paint it in that light.
Look, I don’t blame the teachers for wanting it to pass. They want the money that they have been promised for over a decade that shady state legislators stole from them.
But if Prop. 123 passes, we will see 10 years of increased education funding that will still see us dangling at the bottom of the nation in per pupil spending.
So to all of you, like me, that had a teacher that is near and dear to your heart tell you to vote yes, we’ll see what happens.
To all of you that voted no, thank you for actually reading the bill!
Oh and state legislators: Consider yourself on notice. This is your last fix-our-mistake, it’s-all-about-the-kids vote you will ever get from THIS sucker!