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Tuesday was National Voter Registration Day! You can register to vote or check your voter registration status on our website. I checked mine to make sure my information is up to date.
And speaking of voting, our reporter Sahara Sajjadi looked into one of the ballot measures, Prop 320, that Arizonans will vote on this fall.
From her story:
“On Arizonans’ ballot this November is a resolution that Republican lawmakers say will strengthen public schools, but teachers and advocates are warning against it and urging Arizonans to vote no.
“Proposition 320, a Republican-sponsored ballot measure, requires most school districts in Pima, Maricopa and Pinal counties, or districts with at least 7,500 students, to spend a minimum of 60% of their operating budgets on ‘direct instructional expenses.’
“Sponsored by far-right lawmaker state Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), the measure would penalize school districts that fail to meet the funding threshold beginning in the 2027-28 school year.”
Here are some reader responses:
💬 “Prop 320 is just another way Republican legislators are trying to make sure our public schools fail. Why else would this proposition only affect public schools and not charter schools or private schools? I’m afraid if voters are even still looking at their ballots by the time they get to this section some of them will be fooled into thinking that voting yes will mean more pay for teachers. They will not realize all the essential components that are going to be left out: custodians, the school nurse, the school librarian, the front office lady, art class, any kind of building maintenance and repair, food service and a lot more! How can a school even run without those people and services? VOTE NO ON 320!” — Tiffany H.
💬 “The voucher system makes sense. Frankly the teachers themselves have not benefited in higher salaries when spending is increased.” — June P.
💬 “It is almost always good [policy] to put decision making authority in the hands of those closest to the decision who know the most [about] it. NO on 320. [Don’t] legislate a percentage. Let the district use its money to advance their education without this kind of dictate.” — Anne S.
💬 “Please pay attention to the calls for NO on Prop 320. The legislature made it sound as if this was giving our public schools more funding. The opposite is true—it will tie the hands of each district to not be able to distribute the limited funds they have and cause problems in the budget without giving teachers more. Teachers are against this!” — Carolyn
💬 “Anything that Republicans come up with regarding education I just can’t trust. They have zero regard for public education and are doing everything in their power to dismantle it. NO on Prop 320!” — Jana M.
And here’s what some of our Instagram followers had to say:
💬 “Republicans want to defund public education. They seem to think all the money from taxes needs to go into their pockets. Tax money should go to public services (represent the interests of the people).” — @crookedcloud
💬 “Always side with the teachers.” — @emjoyx
💬 “A ‘NO’ vote is critical for all public education not just districts in the counties it calls out. This is a measure to what is implied as a means to put more money in the classroom and to teachers, however FAR from the truth! It comes with no financial support from the state to do so.” — @lindagibson70
💬 “Do you know how many new and existing charter schools there are in Queen Creek, Gilbert, Santan? School vouchers keep them in business while robbing public schools and teachers of funds.” — @ymm_3240
