Lorie Lux

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What is the most precious thing in the world to you? Most parents would say their children.

And since children in the state grow up to be the caregivers and leaders of the state in a few short decades, it stands to reason that the most important thing all citizens can do is provide children with an education that will make them competitive in their future workplace, give them enough information to make good decisions and ensure our citizens are capable of solving problems that will surely arise in our shared future.

Countries with educated citizens can compete for better jobs, better understand their environment, are better able to make good decisions and are better able to solve future problems. So why on earth would we not properly fund education in Arizona to make that possible?

Arizona consistently ranks among the worst in the country for funding public schools. Presently it ranks 50 out of 50 states. Why would we shortchange our shared future? Yet that’s what the citizens of Arizona did Nov. 5.

Voters in at least nine school districts across Maricopa County said no to Proposition 488 for Maricopa Unified School District 20, even though it would not have increased property taxes.

A committee of district representatives and community stakeholders established the governing board that called for a $70 million special bond to accommodate enrollment growth and supplement inadequate state funding without increasing the tax rate.

Since it was not approved, now there must be increased class sizes, inadequate spaces for teachers and students, limited career and technical classes and the elimination of learning spaces for art, music and other special programs.

Perhaps Prop 488 failed because in this climate of the times we see many people distrust how school boards spend our tax money for their districts. Like much distrust of government today, so many simply assume that the money isn’t going to be spent properly.

We see well-funded schools run better than those with less funds. We also see that education in some districts is less desirable than other districts by calling a local Realtor to ask where the best districts are to buy a home. Education affects property values.

Today some parents opt to pay a private, for-profit school, assuming their child will receive a better education than public schools, which creates inequity in education, and is not statistically true.

The state provides funding to local school districts, plus to independent charter shareholders that, in turn, distribute resources to their school sites. Universal voucher efforts, beginning with Arizona’s universal Empowerment Scholarship Account program in 2022, allow parents to spend tax money not just on private school tuition but also on recreational programs like ninja warrior training, trampoline park outings and ski passes, or on toys and home goods they say they need for homeschooling purposes.

The average Empowerment Scholarship Account award is roughly $7,000, according to a spokesperson for Arizona’s former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who signed the universal voucher program into law.

Since parents say that their children are most important, perhaps it’s time parents take the time and effort to actually investigate what students get in the way of education in the schools they support.

Parents in public schools have a right to ask the superintendent of the district or principal of the school for the budgets for the year, ask for teachers’ curriculum for specific subjects, what safety problems the school has and what safety measures are being taken to protect the children.

If you distrust your public schools, you have those rights. You do not have those rights, however, in private schools.

Editor’s note: Women’s Watch is a cooperative writing effort of the local chapters of the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters and the National Organization for Women. This piece was authored by Lorie Lux. Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.