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Dozens of CA events this weekend honor Latino Conservation Week; Kamala Harris joins Oprah Winfrey in emotional campaign event; Report finds poor working conditions in Texas clean energy industry; AI puts on a lab coat, heads to technical schools.

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Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

AZ Lawmakers Tackle Budget with Eye on Tax Vote

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Monday, March 1, 2010   

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Lawmakers will concentrate on a new state budget this week. They plan to produce two versions, depending on whether voters approve a temporary 1-cent sales tax hike in May - or not. Without the tax increase, the likely result will be a 10-percent, across-the-board cut in state spending, with education taking the biggest hit.

Chuck Essigs, director of government relations for the Association of School Business Officials, has worked in Arizona school finance for 25 years. He says a cut of that magnitude will cripple an already wounded system.

"It will possibly force more districts to close schools. Eighty-five to 90 percent of a school district's operating budget, which is where these cuts would be, is salaries and benefits. So it would be cutting jobs. In many districts, class size would go up."

Essigs notes that schools already have weathered substantial cuts for the past two years. Even if the sales tax passes, he says all-day kindergarten and most remaining capital funding are on the chopping block. Opponents say raising taxes will hurt the state's economic recovery.

Essigs points out that all of the relatively easy budget cuts, including school construction and maintenance, already have been made.

"They haven't built any new schools, under Students First. There's an $80-million to $90-million-a-year program that was called 'building renewal,' to help schools keep their buildings in good shape. They've not funded that."

Until now, federal stimulus money has helped the state avoid much deeper education cuts. Without the sales tax hike, the state could even be forced to default on its agreement with the feds to maintain a certain level of school funding, Essigs warns.

"If the sales tax fails, there's no way the state can meet that requirement. They will have to go to the federal government and say, 'Hey, we said we were going to maintain funding at this level so we could get these monies, but we're sorry, we just can't - we can't do it.'"

In Essigs' opinion, failure to pass the sales tax will damage Arizona's schools and the state's economy for many years to come.





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