School board selects top 10 political agenda priorities

The Arizona State Legislature has the final say on funding for the state’s schools. However, the Arizona School Board Association (ASBA) and its representatives from the local school districts’ governing boards provide input to guide legislators in their decision making about education.

The MUSD governing board spent a good portion of its last regularly scheduled meeting reviewing, discussing and selecting the ten legislative action proposals they collectively believe are the most important ones for the ASBA to pursue in any special session on education or in the 49th legislature’s first regular session.

The board can select only ten action items from a list of 91 possible proposals in six general areas as provided by the ASBA (see complete list of possible proposals here). Individual school boards must submit their proposals by Nov. 6 for compilation and review by the ASBA.

In late winter or early spring of each year, each governing board appoints one of its members to represent their school district as a delegate to the legislative assembly which directs the ASBA as to desired legislation regarding funding and benefits to public education. Delegates from across the state attend the assembly for an entire day in June to discuss and vote on proposals to forward to the Arizona State Legislature.

MUSD’s governing board submitted the following proposals for 2010:

Section I: Advocacy for Children and Students Needs
Seek and support legislation that adequately encourages, assists and financially supports the curriculum and instructional needs of Arizona’s public schools to ensure college and career readiness of all students.

Seek and support legislation or initiatives that will fund programs to prepare and support children and families for success in public schools.

Section II: Local Control/Governance
Oppose unfunded and burdensome legislative mandates.

Section III: Accountability
Seek and support legislation to ensure that all schools receiving public funds are equally accountable financially to the public by complying with conflict of interest laws. Further, efforts to create charter-funding systems are transparent, do not allow commingling of funds, and reverts all public funds and property to the state if a charter school ceases to operate or loses its charter.

Seek and support legislation, which creates greater flexibility in procurement policies and procedures as they apply to rural districts.

Section IV: Taxation/Revenues
Advocate structural change to Arizona’s tax system through legislation or initiative to support a competitive business climate and funding for public education and other child support services and oppose any change to the existing property tax structure unless a comprehensive tax reform proposal is implemented to adequately address the needs of public education.

Oppose any legislation that results in the direct or indirect use of public funds to support private schools, including school vouchers and tax credits.

Seek and support legislation requiring the Arizona State Legislature to pass a state
budget for the ensuing fiscal year no later than April 1 of the previous fiscal year.

Section V: Funding
Advocate a complete revision of the school finance formula.

Section VI: Personnel
Seek and support legislation that provides increased funding for school personnel salaries.

According to Tracy Davis, the local governing board’s vice president, “The legislature really listens to the ASBA recommendations.”

Photo by Joyce Hollis