Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun file photo
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via PinalCentral
State lawmakers took the first steps Tuesday to asking voters if they want to pay even more in sales taxes to support public education.
SCR 1001, approved by a 5-3 vote by the Senate Education Committee, would put a measure on the ballot to create a special one-cent levy effective July 1, 2021. It would replace a current 0.6-cent tax that voters approved nearly two decades ago.
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Legislative budget analysts estimate it could raise an extra nearly $473 million a year.
During an hour of testimony and debate there was virtually no dissent from the argument that more dollars are needed. A parade of educators and their lobbyists told lawmakers of the needs that remain unmet, even with last year’s approval of legislation to hike the salaries of teachers by 20 percent over 2017 levels by 2020.
For example, Chris Knutson, superintendent of the Florence Unified School District spoke of the difficulties he is having hiring and retaining bus drivers who were not included in the pay hike package.
And Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, who proposed the measure, said this is a good time to visit the issue of raising taxes, what with the health of the state economy.
