Page 15 - The Edge - Winter 2016

Even if Prop. 123 Passes,

We Still Have a Lot of Work to Do

BY MIKE BARRAGAN

Many of you may know or have heard us talk about our son legislative changes so it can mitigate nancial hardship to school
Mikey and daughter Reagan. Mikey started his freshman year of districts and impact our state’s students in as negligible a way
high school this past August. He played on the freshman football possible.
team and was promoted from private to private rst class in his high To start, policymakers should consider li ing the 4 percent
school’s Army JRTOC program. carry forwards and eliminate rolling over $1 billion of our students’
Reagan is now in rst grade and she enjoys school very much. She money – no more IOUs. We must protect the solvency of our
has been reading/writing since preschool and is now taking ballet. Arizona school districts and be provided nancial exibility. e
Recently, Reagan sent me a text message from Jill’s phone unlike any implementation of current year funding should be suspended until
I had ever seen from her before. It wasn’t a just a word or two nor reasonable solutions can be identi ed.
a series of “emojis.” Rather, it was a full text conversation. While it Not only do we have current year funding to address, but also a
seems like a small thing, it was rather eye-opening to have an actual proposal that was given to the Governor’s Classroom First Council
text conversation with my rst grade daughter. Wow, did I feel old! that transforms our equitable funding formula to a more simplistic
If you can’t tell by now, Jill and I are very proud parents. We love formula, which eliminates bonds and overrides from its current
that our work allows us to have an impact on their future, as well as form. We must clearly and as frequently as possible communicate
for other students in this great state. the consequences of these two ideas.
As most parents do, I re ected on my children, their education As members of the Arizona Association of School Business
and their futures. And that’s when I realized Mikey’s education O cials, we have a responsibility not only to promote the highest
hasn’t been fully funded since he was in second grade. Reagan’s has standards of school business management, but also to provide
never been fully funded. Assume for a minute that Proposition 123 is professional leadership within our schools, communities and, when
approved by voters in May. at still does not restore K-12 funding to necessary, provide legislative leadership. I am a rm believer that
the appropriate levels. Let’s not forget District Additional Assistance collectively and strategically we should be fostering relationships
is being reduced by 85 percent and the School Facilities Board has with policymakers in order to strengthen our school nance system.
not been fully funded in several years. Our students need many We cannot stand on the sidelines and watch our equitable funding
capital items, such as transportation vehicles, ebooks, computers, formula be transformed to something it was never intended to be. A
or instructional aides, and our buildings require renovations and one-size- ts-all formula is not the solution.
upgrades. We must also be mindful of the classroom site fund that Friends, we can no longer be the silent majority and allow
expires in 2021. inking long-term will provide us the greatest changes to be made without our input. We must communicate our
advantage in dealing with school nance concerns. concerns and ideas in a manner that is constructive and not divisive.
As business o cials, we have an obligation to protect our taxpayers’ I encourage all of us to unite – let’s work together to be one strong
investment while creating a conducive learning environment for our voice for our children so that we may strengthen our education
children. We have a lot of work to do and it will not be easy li ing. system. To do otherwise, we risk sending the wrong message to our
For example, in scal year 2017, unless the Legislature intervenes, citizens and to our elected o cials. I hope that you’re asking yourself,
the state is required to implement current year funding while at the “What can I do?” Be active, communicate with your community,
same time, the Arizona Department of Education transitions from meet and talk to your legislators and attend meetings that attempt
SAIS (Student Accountability Information System) to AZEDs to change our school nance system – be visible.
(Arizona Education Data Standards). As some of you expressed Jill and I love Arizona because it is a state full of opportunity and
during the November bi-monthly meeting, implementing current has a orded us the opportunity to live the American dream. We
year funding and AZEDs simultaneously could exponentially believe that education is the greatest resource we can provide our
increase the possibilities of funding errors. children. Jim Collins says, “We cannot predict the future. But we can
Current year funding without the appropriate infrastructure create it.” I’m convinced that collectively we can create a sustainable
would be nancially challenging for school districts because of education funding system that our children can inherit from us and
the cash, tax rate and budget capacity concerns, not to mention continue to make Arizona the greatest state.
school districts that are declining in enrollment. We realize district
operations will have to change if moved to current year funding. Mike Barragan is Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Auxiliary
However, we must be prudent in the manner in which we implement Services, Glendale Elementary School District.

15