By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
Gov. Doug Ducey is fighting back against a report by a left-leaning research group that shows Arizona is spending less on K-12 education today than before the recession when inflation is taken into account.
“That’s a false report by a left-wing public interest group,” Ducey said Wednesday just moments after helping break ground for a new charter school in west Phoenix which is being built, at least indirectly, with the help of the state treasury.
“It’s up 10 percent since 2015,” the governor said. “It’s above per-pupil rates, inflation adjusted since the Great Recession.”
But figures obtained by Capitol Media Services from state legislative budget staffers paint a different picture of what has happened since before the recession than the one being claimed by Ducey.
The report from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee shows state aid to K-12 in the 2007-2008 school year at $5.12 billion. That has increased to $5.33 billion in the current budget year.
