By Mary Jo Pitzl | The Republic
Gov. Doug Ducey unveiled a proposed budget Friday that bridges a $1 billion-plus deficit with a dip into the state’s rainy-day fund, sweeps to agency accounts and cuts $75 million from universities.
However, Ducey’s spending plan does not account for one of the largest contributors to the budget gap: a court order for lawmakers to hike spending on the K-12 system by $336 million this year and every year after, adjusting for inflation.
The deficit amounts to $520 million in the current fiscal year and $1 billion in next fiscal year. Excluding the cost of the court order, the deficit over that period falls to about $856 million.
