On Wednesday, Arizona teachers and their supporters wore Red for Ed to bring attention to their demand for better wages. Currently, nearly fifty percent of Arizona’s budget is spent on education, however teachers’ wages remain low. At the same time, administration costs continue to climb.
Today my mom and stepmom wore red today to represent that Arizona teachers deserve better PAY! Love when your activisms spreads to your family members…women in my family are working to change the world! We will RISE! @ArizonaEA #REDforED
— Erin Roediger (@erinroediger) March 8, 2018
Kinder team and ESS standing in solidarity! #redfored #azwhatistheplan pic.twitter.com/Kxd1SkEJVA
— Nicole Wolff (@nicolewolff17) March 7, 2018
We stand with our public schools and teachers. It's time we give our teachers the pay and respect they have earned. Restore funding for our public schools. #REDforED pic.twitter.com/LHp0tTzYwe
— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) March 7, 2018
Education is our priority! We support you! #WearRedForEd ? @KelliButlerAZ @EngelForArizona pic.twitter.com/nNWUzNZlIK
— Isela Blanc (@IselaBlancAZ) March 7, 2018
Educators argue that it is not the percent of the budget that is the issue, but the size of Arizona’s budget that needs to increase.
In his article, How To Give Teachers A $10K Pay Raise, Jose Borrajero argues that increasing teacher pay $10,000 a year without increasing school budgets is possible. “All it takes is for school boards to get serious about teacher compensation instead of using it as an excuse to demand more funding, of which only 53.5% has been ending up in the classroom.”
According to the Auditor General:
Between fiscal years 2001 and 2014, Arizona’s total operational spending per pupil increased 41 percent. Despite this increase, Arizona school districts still spent approximately $3,000 less per pupil than the national average. Arizona districts also allocated resources differently than the national averages, spending lower percentages of available operating dollars on instruction and administration, and higher percentages on all other nonclassroom (sic) areas, particularly plant operations and student support services.
In fiscal year 2014, for the second consecutive year, Arizona districts spent 53.8 percent of available operating dollars on instruction—the lowest percentage in the 14 years our Office has been monitoring district spending. The state-wide percentage decreased every year between fiscal years 2004 and 2013 before remaining flat in fiscal year 2014. Over this same 10-year period, the percentage of resources allocated to administration, plant operations, food service, transportation, student support, and instruction support have all increased.