Page 32 - The Edge - Spring 2016

CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES CONTRIBUTING ARTICLE

BY HOWARD FISCHER
Percentage of money spent on instruction

reaches new low in Arizona

Arizona schools spent less of the money they received last Between 2004 and 2015, total per pupil spending actually
year in the classroom than in any of the 15 years the state has decreased $424 when inflation is taken into account. That
been keeping track. includes the years where the governor and Legislature illegally
The new report from the Auditor General’s Office found ignored a 2000 voter mandate to boost state aid annually to
that just 53.6 cents out of every dollar spent to educate account for inflation.
Arizona youngsters in 2015 went for instruction. That includes What happened during that same time, the audit says, is
everything from teachers, aides and even coaches to supplies classroom spending decreased by an even larger amount
like pencils and papers and some activities like band or choir. at $629 per pupil, as spending in other operational areas
Aside from being at the lowest point since the agency increased or remained relatively steady.
started looking at the issue in 2001, it also is 7.2 cents below
the national average.
But this is about more than percentages. The report also
says there are fewer dollars going to schools overall. CONTINUED ON PAGE 38

THE EDGE
32 THE EDGE | SPRING 2016