By Gloria Rebecca Gomez | AZ Mirror
Arizona’s largest teacher’s union is sounding the alarm over Republican-backed legislation that it says threatens public school funding and the ability of teachers to exercise their first amendment rights.
Marisol Garcia, the president of the Arizona Education Association, which represents more than 22,000 public school employees, lambasted the GOP-controlled legislature for attacking teachers instead of working to improve the state’s public education system.
“This legislature should be talking about: ‘How do we keep great teachers in our state? How do we make sure that they don’t leave for New Mexico, that has a higher salary, or Nevada that has a higher salary and benefits package?’” she said during a virtual news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“Instead of addressing any of those problems, Arizona lawmakers are advancing a set of bills that will hurt funding for our public schools and undermine the few protections that Arizona educators have left,” she added.
Garcia pointed out that public schools are still struggling with an ongoing teacher exodus that needs addressing. According to a September 2025 report from the Arizona Department of Education, more than 1,000 teachers left the profession during the 2025-2026 academic year, with 763 calling it quits before the start of the school year.
