Sixth Time the Charm?

The Governor called the Sixth Special Session of the AZ Legislature Monday at 1:45 pm. They are going to discuss closing the budget gap by sending a 1 cent sales tax proposal to voters for a May election. They are also going to "roll over" more education funding into the next budget year, rework some tax loopholes for out-of-state tax filers, and borrow more money against the lottery.

You know, what the Republicans used to call "accounting tricks" when Napolitano was at the helm.

Here are some other bills being heard this year at the legislature that impact education. I copied this from an Arizona Guardian article. You should really consider getting a subscription for yourself. There is a special rate for being a teacher. Call and tell them Joe Thomas sent you.

On Monday, Jonathan Paton’s (R-Tucson) Judiciary Committee will take up two bills that would further expand gun rights in Arizona, both sponsored by Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) and both held over from last week‘s hearing.

SB 1098 would allow guns and ammunition manufactured in Arizona to be exempt from federal regulations, mirroring laws in Tennessee and Montana.

SB 1102 would make concealed weapons permits and background checks optional, and do away with the requirement for a firearms safety class. Concealed weapons would be legal at any public event or in any public building. An identical bill, HB 2347, will be heard Wednesday morning in the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee.

Imagine how fun working security at the next game between your school and your biggest rival with half of the crowd armed. magine "wanding" every parent who comes onto campus. That will sure build a positive relationship. Fun.

The House Education Committee will consider a bill Monday to make it easier to become certified to teach in the classroom. Most teachers are certified through universities and community colleges, but HB 2298 would allow new, private companies to offer preparation programs and certify teachers.

Brewer and Republicans say it’s important to ease requirements, particularly for college-educated, second-career professionals who don’t have the time or money to get another degree. But the teachers union [that's me!] is concerned that the standards will be lowered and a glut of teachers will crowd an already crowded market.

I truly believe Governor Brewer is trying to make education part of her "jobs program" by making it so that recently laid off people can apply to teach at schools. This would only work once you decoupled RIF procedures from tenure so you could create job openings by letting go of all of your "expensive", veteran teachers. Oh yeah, the legislature did that already.

On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear Pearce’s bill to put repeal of the Voter Protection Act on the ballot. SCR 1033, held from last week’s agenda, would be a straight repeal of the measure passed by voters in 1998, which prevents lawmakers from tinkering with voter-approved programs.

Brewer has proposed a temporary repeal of the act so that funds for education, health care and early childhood development, among others, could be used to help balance the budget. Under that plan, lawmakers would only be able to tap the funds in fiscal emergencies.

Either one of these proposals would allow the state to "sweep" revenue from the Classroom Site Fund (aka Prop 301), which would result in teachers losing money from their base salary AND those summer performance-pay checks. Classified staff would likely lose money as districts would move funds from the classified to certified to offset a bit of the salary cuts.

The idea of tapping funds only in "fiscal emergencies" is silly. The legislature could slice away vital revenue (like they are proposing now) and artificially create such emergencies every year.

The Governor Hates Kindergartners

OK... a little over the top. My apologies.

The Governor released a budget proposal Friday which would effectively end Arizona's very popular all-day Kindergarten program established less than a decade ago. That may not be "hating" kids, but it certainly makes it harder for them to learn. You can find a budget summary here from the Arizona Education Association.

They recently sent out an alert about the budget.

The governor's budget proposes permanently eliminating several non-formula education programs as well as funding for full-day kindergarten. The proposal also targets health care for Arizona's children and families by cutting funding for several health and human service programs such as KidsCare, which provides health insurance for nearly 47,000 children, and AHCCCS, which provides health care coverage to over 300,000 Arizonans. In addition, the budget eliminates behavioral health services for people who aren't eligible for Medicaid, impacting over 17,000 seriously mentally-ill adults.

Dumbing Down Teaching

ASU's Statepress debunk's Governor Brewer's State of the State remarks regarding Bill Gates not being "qualified" to teach in an Arizona classroom.

Lisa Flesher, an undergraduate adviser for the College of Teacher Education and Leadership, said someone like Gates would not have taken the classes on teacher instruction required by the Arizona Department of Education.

The teacher education school works alongside the Arizona Department of Education to ensure its students complete the certification process and develop the skills necessary to teach elementary, secondary and special education, Flesher said.

“You can take some of the most intelligent people and throw them in a classroom, and they would struggle,” she said.

It's really not as easy as a good teacher makes it look.

KJZZ's Legislative Preview

Here and Now looked at the challenges ahead for state lawmakers as the legislature begins a new session.

KJZZ capitol reporter Mark Brodie and reporter Dennis Welch of ArizonaGuardian.com discussed Governor Jan Brewer's State of the State, address, legislative reaction, and what issues other than budget lawmakers make deal with.

Rep. Chad Campbell talked about Democrats' hope for the session. Senator Jim Waring talked about Republicans hope to achieve. And the Arizona Republic's Bob Robb discussed the difficulties that lie ahead for lawmakers.

Democratic Response to State of the State

I have not yet found a link to the governor's speech, but there are plenty of videos of the reaction to it. Here is the Democratic response.

State of the State = Red Meat Feast

Governor Brewer gave her first official State of the State address to the Arizona Legislature and selected guests Monday afternoon.

It was long on red meat and short on blueprints (sorry...) for pulling the state out of the economic downturn.

She managed to blast both former Governor Janet Napolitano and current Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. She also took a shot at Attorney General (and governor-hopeful) Terry Goddard.

She even took a shot at one in her own party, Arizona Treasurer (also a governor-hopeful) Dean Martin.

The first real round of applause Brewer received was right after accusing the federal government of offering "unfunded mandates and sweetheart deals [which] steal Arizona's freedom and threaten to bankrupt our state." The statement is amazing really.

First, if not for the infusion of $1 billion in federal money into the state this year thousands of Arizonans would be out of a job and without basic services. Second, it was that icon of Republicanism, President Ronald Reagan, who ended the no-strings-attached "revenue sharing" which allowed states to spend federal dollars as they pleased. Third, I hope the Governor and everyone else is keeping their fingers crossed that the various financial institutions will continue to rapidly pay back their TARP and other bailout monies so it can be redirected to the states for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

If not, we are screwed.

Or, as the Tucson Citizen's Mark Evans put it, "The state’s Republicans have long advocated for limited government. Arizona is going to find out what that looks like in 2010."

Here is a link to the text of the governor's speech.