Please choose your school district in Arizona from the list below to view a calendar of your 2022-2023 school holidays. I originally planned to give a different speech today, she said. Doug Ducey did not mention the cap in his last months state of the state address. Parents are best suited to make decisions about their childs education. Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. January 6, 2022 at 11:22 a.m. EST. Sara Edwards expects to graduate in May 2022 with a masters degree focused on business journalism. He said he has sympathy for districts larger than his who face an even greater loss. Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today. Madison School . Not because of COVID-19 this time, but because of a perfect storm of problems with our states school funding system. John Brown expects to graduate in May 2023 with a bachelors degree in journalism and a minor in political science. Maricopa County Department of Public Health, for example, recently began requiring students and staff who came in close contact of a known COVID-19 case to quarantine. PHOENIX (AP) Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema reported raising just over $2.1 million in her first full fundraising quarter since leaving the Democratic Party, a smaller haul than the $3.7 million raised by Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is hoping to win her seat in 2024. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } Thats a death rate of 0.02%. 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We have two choices: to allow schools to shut down on a technicality, or to usher them into the 21st century so our entire state can thrive. Closing schools again won't stop omicron. It'll just hurt kids. On Aug. 16, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled the ban therefore would not take effect until Sept. 29. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. If the Legislature doesnt override the limit, schools will only have a couple of months to cut $1.2 billion.. UArizona ranks 29 among top 100 universities granted US utility patents in 2022. Arizona public schools concerned over possible $1.2 billion in - KOLD Email covid.edu@azcir.org, or contact AZCIRs reporters: Which school districts have mask mandates in place? In central Arizona, the Congress Elementary School District board met Wednesday and reviewed contingency plans. Classes in Chicago Public Schools were canceled for the second day Thursday, the result of an impasse over the teachers union's desire to return to remote . Oh sure, COVID-19 is spiking yet again with the highly contagious omicron variant. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Arizona superintendent urges lawmakers to act as schools face closure ticking timebomb, Superintendent Hoffman says schools face closure ticking timebomb, Tucson marks first 100-degree day of 2023, WARNING GRAPHIC VIDEO of officer-involved fatal shooting, Gov. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Robbins announces changes to the future of University of Arizona's medical programs. "Back then in '80, we had schoolbooks and chalkboards and all kinds of things that didn't cost near as much.". "This year, it seems it's turned into a little bit . Do we ask our people to work for free for the last few months of the year? said Hector Encinas, the CFO for Sunnyside Schools. The money is already in the district bank accounts. Schools across the country are shutting down again. All rights reserved. Another looks to April 2. Kids arent dying from COVID-19. The aggregate expenditure limit, passed by voters in 1980, is an amendment to the Arizona Constitution that sets a spending limit for school districts based on total spending of all districts. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The economic estimates commission shall determine and publish prior to May 1 of each year the aggregate expenditure limitation for all school districts for the following fiscal year. And students are still trying to recover from the impact of COVID-induced learning interruptions. And as state and local officials argue over the bans merit, COVID-19 continues to spread. Let me be perfectly clear that inaction is not an option, and its appalling that this was not the first issue addressed when the (policy) session started a month ago.. We also thank our legislative partners for passing legislation ensuring all educators and staff see no disruption in pay. Duceys wrong to use the pandemic as an excuse to expand school vouchers. Some school districts maintain their own dashboards online. Itll be scheduled, and I think most people expect that itll be passed by enough to make (the overages) no longer an issue.. Outbreaks, quarantines and closures in AZ schools - Arizona Center for In a statement, Arizona Superintendent Kathy Hoffman said: Legislative leaders have less than one month to prevent Arizonas school districts from facing existential budget cuts. The irony is that this spring, school districts are running into something called the aggregate expenditure limit (AEL) that was created more than40 years ago. Eighty-five percent of our budget is salary and benefits. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Yet here comes Ducey, acting as if he alone is holding the line against some orchestrated plot by the evil teachers union and liberal school boards to close down Arizonas schools. So that cash will just sit there, we believe.. 1740 W. Adams, Suite 3008. This technical roadblock means without immediate bipartisan legislative action districts across Arizona will have to eliminate 15% or more of their already approved budgeted expenses this spring. FOX 10's Stephanie Bennett reports. Edwards, who graduated from ASU in 2021, has interned with Phoenix New Times, Phoenix Magazine and Crime and Justice News. Its kind of like kicking our kids when theyre already down, isnt it? PHOENIX - Public schools in Arizona are once again at risk of massive budget cuts and layoffs unless lawmakers vote to lift a constitutional spending cap that has been in place for decades. Read more at UArizona News. Though campuses are closed, the remote . State Sen. T.J. Shope, a Republican, does not support repealing the cap. Arizona Association of School Business Officials, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Though some counties and school districts are monitoring outbreaks at the local level, there is no centralized tracking system. Schools will not be able to maintain their current day-to-day operations without action, she said. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Some districts maintain their own dashboards online. In Arizona, he said on Tuesday, were going to ensure continued access to in-person learning.. "[State Senator Ken Bennett], the chairman of the Education Committee here in the Senate, will have that legislation to override the AEL for this coming year,". Arizona schools to close for the rest of the school year due to coronavirus Arizona school districts face nearly $1.2 billion in budget cuts A two-thirds majority of the Legislature is needed to override the cap and allow the $1.2 billion to be spent. One scenario anticipates a school year closure as of March 19. But in 2018, the Legislature extended Proposition 301, without exempting it. The school spending cap was enacted as part of a wave of proposed laws the Legislature asked voters to approve to limit taxes and government spending. It affects all of us. A governor who actually pays bonuses to school districts that refuse to enact mask mandates using federal funding intended to fight COVID-19, no less. Ultimately, on Feb. 21, 2022, lawmakers in the Arizona State Senate voted 23-6 to waive a constitutional spending cap for K-12 school spending, a week after members of the State House voted on the measure. The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report. Lana Berry, the chief financial officer of Chandler Unified School District, said schools have the money, they just need the authorization from the Legislature to spend it. "I originally planned to give a different speech today," she said. Business, finance, policy, compliance, operations. Feb. 11, 2022. Prefer to send a check? Its frustrating, he said, because every dollar needed for salaries and to fulfill budgets already has been approved by the Legislature. How aggressively will the state enforce the ban? These efforts are crucial, and we recognize that schools are making every effort possible to continue providing instruction during closures. Currently, a total of 877 classrooms in the New York City public school district have closed, their students transitioned to at-home e-learning, due to confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the . Arizona superintendent urges lawmakers to act as schools face - KOLD Gov. Ducey announces Arizona schools closed through end of school year Arizona's Constitutional Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) In a public letter dated Aug. 11, they contended a resounding message must be delivered to any local government or subdivision of the state considering defying state law that lawlessness will not be tolerated.. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs doesnt think the Legislature will act before the March 1 deadline. The 10,000 pupils in the Lansing Public School District are stuck in virtual mode until at least next week. As schools and education advocates are biting their nails waiting for the overrides, Kavanagh said hes pretty confident that the budget will be approved. This is their way of saying no to 208 even though the voters passed it overwhelmingly, she said. (Video by John Brown/Cronkite News) PHOENIX - The clock is running out for state legislators to override a cap on spending that would prohibit Arizona public school districts from disbursing nearly $1.2 billion that's already been approved by the Legislature and budgeted. All rights reserved. The Arizona Republics Stephanie Innes in December reported that the vast majority of COVID-19 deaths, since the vaccine became available, have been in people who were not fully vaccinated. Politics, cell towers and hate speech: Why 3 more superintendents are Florida schools move closer to a 12-month school year. The cap only affects district public schools; charter schools did not exist in 1980. The spectacular surge of Omicron cases has left thousands of teachers and students sick, and many others quite logically fear . 360 Hiatt Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418. Look at our options. Its time we ask ourselves the question: Is it fair to continue asking children to sacrifice and suffer in order to protect unvaccinated adults? Essigs said the Legislature projected the limit to decrease because of the decline in enrolled students during the 2020-21 school year because of the pandemic, which would lead to a lower spending limit this year, despite students returning to in-person learning. Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic, Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District, Maricopa County Community College District, You must credit us: For bylines, use Author Name, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. At the top of the text of the story, include a line that reads: "This story was originally published by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting." But because of legislative inaction, our districts are facing a school closure ticking timebomb. Listen to public health experts and school leaders. It allows people to lift themselves out of poverty. I get the decision out when I get it out., Ducey defends use of school funding in face of feds threat to reclaim it. However, this wont just affect families with school-age children. The district provided no in-person classes from March 2020 through the end of the . Close your doors for even a day and you will . The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". District Administration. All rights reserved.