Former TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez at joint press conference with other Pima County school leaders.Listen
Pima County school superintendents urged legislators to support K-12 education in a joint press conference Thursday at the Tucson Unified School District headquarters.
Gov. Doug Ducey’s proposal to shift money from non-instructional funds such as food services, school nurses and transportation to instructional or classroom spending is among the concerns for the superintendents.
The proposed state budget does include cuts that will directly affect the classroom through Career and Technical Education programs.
“That just seems to be a gross inconsistency and I don’t know if the folks in Phoenix who have the very hard work of balancing this budget have taken that into consideration,” said TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez.
If the state budget proposal passes as it is now, dozens of career education programs such as agriculture science, engineering and mechanical drafting, would likely disappear.
Calvin Baker, superintendent for the Vail Unified School District said he agreed with Ducey that economic development must be a priority for the state of Arizona, “but this budget, however, moves Arizona in the wrong direction.”
The cuts are “damaging some of our most successful efforts to develop a highly skilled workforce and it reinforces a perception that Arizona does not value education,” Baker said.
“The proposed legislation that will be acted upon very soon we find to be disappointing at best and devastating at worst,” said Mike Verney, president and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber.
He said the cuts would affect businesses and the state economy.
Dismantling Pima County’s Joint Technical Education District will eliminate one of the highest performing programs that he said produces students who are career ready.
“From my conversations with business owners and executives throughout this community, that it’s the jobs that JTED trains that are in the highest demand in our community right now,” Verney said.
The superintendents for Sunnyside Unified School District and Sahuarita Unified School District also attended the press conference Thursday.
Read letters from Pima County school leaders regarding cuts to K-12 education funding:
Vail Unified School District's letter to parents regarding the 2015 state budget.
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