By Kiera Riley | Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Proposition 123 is on Legislature’s radar, but no clear details on reaching consensus
- Democrats seek clean renewal, Republicans still aim to tie in school choice
- Conversations come amid tight budget, capital funding lawsuit and ESA opposition
The debate surrounding Proposition 123, the now-lapsed education funding mechanism drawing dollars from the state land trust fund, has reemerged as a slow scramble to compromise this session.
What’s more, there is no complete plan from the Republican majority, Democrats, the governor or the broad spectrum of education groups on how to continue funding raises for Arizona’s teachers.
After two sessions of false starts and stalls, lawmakers and stakeholders have yet to fully reconvene on Prop. 123, all while pressure to pass some type of extension rises.
A projected budget deficit, a court judgment requiring further school facilities funding and finger-pointing at the now $1 billion Empowerment Scholarship Account program converge, putting the education funding measure somewhere near center stage.
