Education

We spend $22Billion on Education in the state of AZ which is 50% of the entire state budget, with $10,000 per student per year K-12. With our test results at 48th out of 50 states we are still near the bottom of results. Something has to change and it must change now.  Our children deserve better and with a Goldwater Institute report showing school districts in AZ waste approximately 40% of their budget on EMPTY buildings and excess administration it becomes obvious that something need to change.  No more! We need no more new taxes for education until districts resolve their wasteful spending.

We need trained counselors and social workers at the elementary level because of the rising rate of kids from dysfunctional homes.  We must turn them around at a young age to give them hope and to give them a chance to succeed in life.

We need a path for teachers to be better paid.  That comes with teachers being able to be terminated just like any other person in the workforce.  Just because a teacher has a credential doesn’t mean they are an effective and successful teacher.  Creating a system that rewards great teachers and weeds out those that truly can’t teach is how we can do that.  Every good teacher should be earning $60,000 within 3 years of hire.  We will have merit raises just like everyone else in the workforce. Competition for excellence is what we need.

Teachers are part of the state employee pension fund yet they are actually NOT state employees.  You say what?  That is correct.  Teachers are pensioned by the state, yet we seem to have absolutely no control over the money given to districts, only the permanent liabilities.

Districts are admin heavy with heavy salaries,  the average principal earns over $125K a year as do their 3 vice principals.  That is almost $500K per high school.  Superintendents are found earning over $350K.  This is why there is no money for paying teachers and the most important person in this process is the teacher.  It’s time we rebuild education in Arizona from the ground up.  Together.