Arizona students deserve better than Proposition 320

OPINION — As a future voter attending Arizona public schools since kindergarten and seeing, firsthand, the same slew of complaints, I know the biggest problem for students and me isn't a lack of curriculum resources or field trips; it’s the support systems students’ success depends on.

Prop. 320 would require major districts, including SUSD, to restructure already tight budgets to spend 60% on “direct instruction.” On the surface, this is great: put more money toward students; but in reality, Prop. 320 cuts millions of dollars from real pressure points. SUSD currently spends 54% on instruction — requiring a $14,900,000 reduction towards the backbone of education: counselors, teacher training and security. The counselor-to-student ratios are stretched to their max; how can Arizona schools compete with private schools that provide the most intensive counseling support in the United States?