A gathering of education advocates took place on Monday to explore potential remedies for the numerous challenges facing Arizona’s public schools, with a change in leadership being a significant point of discussion.
“Republicans have governed this state for decades,” stated state Rep. Keith Seaman, who is a retired teacher and former school superintendent in Mohave County. “They’ve had control for a long time and have consistently worked to undermine public schools and student success.”
Decades of Republican Control
Seaman, along with Sen. Christine Marsh, Rep. Judy Schwiebert, parents, teachers, and former students, met at the Arizona Education Association’s main office in Phoenix. The discussion addressed issues from deteriorating infrastructure to oversized classes, all linked to what they described as Republican lawmakers’ long-standing apathy towards public education since they gained control of the state legislature in 1993.
Since then, per-pupil spending and teacher salaries have stagnated, class sizes have increased, and turnover rates have soared. Accounting for inflation, teachers in Arizona earn 36% less today than in the early 1990s.
Stacey Seaman, a former music teacher and candidate for the state senate in Arizona’s 16th Legislative District, recounted starting school years by visiting pawn shops for instruments. She realized the severity of the issue only after leaving the profession and no longer having to beg for supplies.
“It’s almost an assumption at this point that there’s not going to be enough paper, not enough markers, not enough books,” Seaman said. “It boggles my mind that people who consider themselves great business people are running schools like this and act surprised when we’re not getting the results we want.”
Budget Constraints
Since 2011, public funds have increasingly been diverted to support private education through a voucher program aimed at encouraging parents to opt out of the public school system. Nearly $500 million from the state’s education budget is now directed towards private education for 75,000 students, rather than increasing public school teacher salaries, hiring additional staff, or improving infrastructure.
Sen. Marsh, who began her teaching career when the Republican majority took hold, described frequent supply shortages. “There were years in a row – 7 or 8 years in a row – where the air conditioner in my room was out for the first several weeks,” Marsh stated. She also noted that she often ran out of paper by spring and had to become proficient at finding bargain textbooks. For her, the lack of adequate funding was evident in the very air she and her students breathed.
Marsh’s school would relocate her class until the air conditioner was repaired, causing inconvenience. The situation improved only after she held a back-to-school night in her sweltering classroom, prompting parents to complain, which led to a swift repair.
Marsh believes that the poor funding, scant supplies, and inadequate infrastructure are part of a deliberate strategy by Republican lawmakers to make public schools less appealing. “The one thing that I want to point out is that none of this is an accident,” Marsh said. “These are intentional choices that have been made year after year.”
