We all want our children to have a world-class education, no matter where they live or what school they attend.

However, state Sen. Nancy Barto seems to regard public schools and their teachers as the enemy.

She’s the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 1211, which would require public and charter schools to post, 7 days prior to use, a list of every single item teachers plan to use or discuss with students including articles, videos and worksheets. For any topic related to diversity, the material must be displayed at least 72 hours before its first use.

The burden this places on already overworked, underpaid teachers cannot be overstated. Private schools are exempt.

Arizona legislators are now dangling the fate of this school year over the heads of public school students, teachers and staff. If by March 1 our lawmakers don’t increase a cap on education spending (money that the state has and that is already budgeted), public schools will be barred from spending over $1.1 billion they’ve budgeted for this year.

According to the Arizona Department of Education, State Sen. Barto’s district stands to lose $36 million. Our neighborhood schools are facing layoffs, program cuts, class consolidations and full-blown closures all because they can’t exceed a spending limit established in 1980.

Does this worry state Sen. Barto? Has she taken any action to avoid the shut down? We should all call her office (602-926-5766) to find out where she stands on raising the spending cap, and why she’s so anxious to destroy our neighborhood schools.