Do students and staff have to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID in schools? Nearly 300 schools in the U.S. will remain closed for in-person classes after the winter break in an effort to address growing concerns over the latest COVID surge of . When does the states ban on school mask requirements take effect? The Legislature has until March 1 to override the spending cap. 1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays. Similar Facebook posts were shared in early August 2021 claiming some schools are closing their doors again, . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. 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. said Lewis. Public schools in Atlanta, Georgia also marked August 4, 2021 as the first day of the 2021-2022 academic year. I am tired of legislative leaders playing political games with public schools, educators and students. While Duceys threat should play well for him politically especially with those always looking for an angle to expand the states school voucher program I wasnt aware that there was any groundswell of support for closing Arizonas schools. And if schools close because they are not authorized to spend money already sitting in their bank accounts, the blame will lie with you not our public schools, Hoffman wrote to lawmakers in her address. In-person learning is vital for the development, well-being and educational needs of K-12 students. And as state and local officials argue over the bans merit, COVID-19 continues to spread. Pima County tracks cases by school district. While Arizona is a leader in providing parents options when it comes to the education of their children - the solution is not as simple as school choice. While these cuts only impact district schools, our public charter schools wont be able to absorb the students that might lose access to their primary district school if these cuts go through and as we know, in many communities the district is the only choice available.. Here's what you need to know about why the state came so close to cutting school spending. The formula that calculates school district spending is based on spending from the 1979-80 school year, according to the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. "It looks like we will begin moving that piece forward in the next couple of weeks," said State Sen. Shope. Two years ago, most of society shut down in the face of a deadly virus we knew little about and couldnt defend against. But because of legislative inaction, our districts are facing a school closure ticking timebomb. "That would be an incredible disaster. 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. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. AZCIR is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, Tax ID #46-1209940. But its downright galling that this governor continues to fight schools that are trying to protect kids and their teachers by requiring masks or testing or other mandates designed to ensure they can remain open. Politicians are holding our school districts hostage to try to get their way on two things that arent related, Secretary Hobbs said. Budget documents show that Chandler schools would lose more than $54 million. Not because of COVID-19 this time, but because of a perfect storm of problems with our state's school funding system. 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. For more than a decade the Legislatures failure to invest properly in our schools has resulted in such a severe teacher shortage that more than20% of our students dont have a permanent, qualified teacher in their classroom. All material must be attributed and credited prominently, and where appropriate for the material type throughout. Mind you we already have a severe teacher and staff shortage at this point, said Margaret Cheney, the president of the Tucson Education Association. State health officials said there are now 1,157 known coronavirus cases and 20 deaths. Virtually no one's pressing to close schools, Hurt students for the unvaccinated? Close your doors for even a day and you will pay. 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 thats already been approved by the Legislature and budgeted. On CoronavirusNOW.com, you'llfind extensive coverage about COVID-19, including breaking news from around the country, exclusive interviews with health officials, and informative content from a variety of public health resources. Were talking closing schools altogether. The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report. Business, finance, policy, compliance, operations. Ducey and Hoffman released a joint statement: In alignment with yesterdays updated federal guidance, today we are announcing the extension of school closures through the remainder of the school year. All rights reserved. Doug Ducey, who for months had emphasized personal responsibility over pandemic-related mandates, signed off. 185.6.9.159 We are not adding any new money or raising taxes, just letting them spend all the money that you budgeted to them last year. Closures will still last days to weeks as district leaders cope with staffing shortages and try to stem COVID transmissions. Taylor Lane expects to graduate in May 2022 with a bachelors degree in journalism. The Education Secretary is encouraging teachers to inform their school leaders in advance whether they intend to take strike action or not, to help schools and families . School closures and shifts to remote instruction are quickly becoming less common as COVID case rates drop in many states. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Her position is partially funded by Report for America, a national program that supports local journalists. */. If lawmakers fail to raise the cap, public school districts could lose over a billion dollars in funding. abc15.com staff 8:18 AM, Sep 16 . We need to repeal it. The district provided no in-person classes from March 2020 through the end of the . Then stop playing politics with our children and follow your own advice. Doug Ducey has put Arizona's public schools on notice. Arizona schools will remain closed through the end of the school year, Governor Doug Ducey and state Schools Chief Kathy Hoffman announced Monday morning. Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. A spending limit set 40 years ago doesnt work today. A lot of those kids are now back in school, but thats affecting the limit by about $300 million, he said. "[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,". By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. A clear picture of school-based COVID-19 outbreaks has so far proven elusive, given the rapidly evolving situation and the fact that neither the Arizona Department of Health nor the Arizona Department of Education publishes a dashboard of statewide COVID cases in schools. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Todays announcement is intended to give parents and educators as much certainty as possible so they can plan and make decisions. 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 . We already see it in the number of employers frustrated by the lack of qualified workers. Theres no new taxes, no new money involved in any of that, and its really difficult for anyone to understand because its a complex topic, she said. The 10,000 pupils in the Lansing Public School District are stuck in virtual mode until at least next week. Chaos and confusion: Back to school turns ugly as Delta rages Nearly 18 months into the pandemic, there's no consensus on how to keep students and staff safe. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0c320a4bc898f7 6 Arizona schools awarded the 2022 National Blue Ribbon School honor. "I think the community is really just frustrated and kind of sick of this because it feels almost like a political football game. With out a fix to the school funding limit, schools will undoubtedly lay off educators, cut programs, and in the worst cases close their doors. Huge things have changed since 1979 when the AEL was created. Its time we ask ourselves the question: Is it fair to continue asking children to sacrifice and suffer in order to protect unvaccinated adults? The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Essigs said some schools, unable to pay teachers and staff members, may have to end the school year early if the limit is not overridden. During her State of Education address at the Capitol on Tuesday, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said if the cap isnt overridden by March 1, public school districts will have to cut 16% of their individual budgets before April 1. Two-thirds of each house of the legislature would need to vote on a concurrent resolution to approve the excess spending. MAP: Districts operational status across the U.S. 2023. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Robbins announces changes to the future of University of Arizona's medical programs. The State Legislature, under the Arizona State Constitution, has the power to authorize expenditures in excess of the limitation for a single fiscal year. This is their way of saying no to 208 even though the voters passed it overwhelmingly, she said. Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. Your IP: Judy Schwiebert is a member of the Arizona House, representing District 20 in the West Valley. Sadly, some legislators are already playing political games, trying to convince themselves and the public that the problem is because of district over-spending. Which counties have online dashboards or reports tracking COVID in schools? 2023 Cronkite News. Published: Feb. 8, 2022 at 5:11 PM PST. Some school districts maintain their own dashboards online. He's also in a band. Katie Hobbs signs house bill to fund Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, American Airlines pilots authorize strike; pickets planned at Phoenix Sky Harbor. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs doesnt think the Legislature will act before the March 1 deadline. All rights reserved. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Maricopa County tracks schools with active and resolved outbreaks in a dashboard, but does not differentiate by school or district. The Associated Press contributed to this report. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Doug Ducey did not mention the cap in his last months state of the state address. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Creative Commons. State Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said the amendment was a way to placate Arizonans concerned about high taxes. Katie Hobbs signs house bill to fund Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, American Airlines pilots authorize strike; pickets planned at Phoenix Sky Harbor. Arizona Association of School Business Officials, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. That has a negative economic impact on all of us. However, he says he is hopeful that a decision will be made relatively soon. We saw what it did to our kids. News. Prior to writing for District Administration he worked in daily news all over the country, from the NYC suburbs to the Rocky Mountains, Silicon Valley and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 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. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Not 2020 again? Mental health breakdowns soared while academic achievement plummeted. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Please choose your school district in Arizona from the list below to view a calendar of your 2022-2023 school holidays. by Maria Polletta and Shaena Montanari, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting August 17, 2021, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
. Over the years, lawmakers have voted to override it which hasnt happened yet this year. Schools across the country are shutting down again. You are not adding new money or raising taxes, just letting them spend all the money you budgeted to them last year, she said. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts. Sinema, who has not said whether she will seek a second term, still had a formidable $10 million in her bank account at . Maria Polletta is an investigative reporter for AZCIR focused on covering inequities in education. Watch Now. Phoenix, AZ 85007. email: [email protected] In partnership with Esri and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), we've created the information below to keep you informed of the changes and impact of COVID-19 on school operational plans at the district level. Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. 2023-2024 calendars are being added as they become available. Look at Mesa Unified School District up in the Phoenix area, theyd have to cut $78 million, or TUSD with $58 million, Marana with about $15 million, Amphi with $14 million, he said. 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. Cheney believes the Legislature is trying to prevent Prop 208, an income tax rate surcharge on high-earners, from going into effect by not lifting the spending cap limit. Questions? . Photos, graphics and other visual elements are permitted for one-time-use only. It allows people to lift themselves out of poverty. We all have to reduce our budgets by April 1 if they dont approve the budget, so at that point, we cant over expand our budget, she said. Phase 2, 2022-2023. During the 2021-2022 school year, public schools were staring at 16% across-the-board cuts, and looking at layoffs and school closings, according to education advocates. 1 weather alerts 1 closings/delays. Tell that to parents where COVID cases, test shortages are closing schools. So says the governor who has actually foughtschools that enact public health policies aimed at staying open. Not because of COVID-19 this time, but because of a perfect storm of problems with our states school funding system. Published: Feb. 7, 2022 at 3:20 PM PST. Greenlee County, Arizonas smallest, reported its first case, making it subject to Duceys orders for bars and gyms to close and restaurants to offer only takeout service in counties with known cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. 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. Campbell, who was a senior reporter at The State Press, is working for the Phoenix news bureau. So, districts already have the state-approved money in their bank accounts. Our number one priority will continue to be health and safety, and we will continue to work closely with public health officials to make the best decisions for kids, families, and our school communities.. For 2023, school district officials say they will be forced to cut their budgets for the current school year by more than $1.3 billion. Feb. 11, 2022. The aggregate expenditure limitation shall be determined by adjusting the total amount of expenditures of local revenues for all school districts for fiscal year 1979-1980 to reflect the changes in student population in the school districts and the cost of living, and multiplying the result by 1.10. So that cash will just sit there, we believe.. John Brown expects to graduate in May 2023 with a bachelors degree in journalism and a minor in political science. Tell your senators and representatives to stop using this latest crisis as a political football to score points against each other. The aggregate expenditures of local revenues for all school districts shall not exceed the limitation prescribed in this section. A two-thirds majority of the Legislature is needed to override the cap and allow the $1.2 billion to be spent. I'd like to receive updates & guidance about the 2022-2023 School Year. Public school districts, mostly across the Northeast and Midwest, closed this week as the omicron variant of coronavirus surges following the winter break and the country's students face a mental . While other counties do not have dashboards, some school districts have made their own, such as Kingman Unified School District #20 in Mohave County. All rights reserved. Gov. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Read . His Open for Learning Recovery Benefit program offers up to $7,000 that can be used to pay private school tuition for any child whose school closes for even a day of in-person instruction. Doug Ducey has put Arizonas public schools on notice. PHOENIX - Governor Doug Ducey announced Monday that Arizona schools will be closed through the end of the school year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Is there anyone who wants to put them through that again? In an abrupt reversal, Atlanta's public schools start the year remotely. In 2000, when voters approved Proposition 301 to fund education for 20 years, they exempted that money from counting toward the expenditure limit. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Lets get this straight. 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. 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. But unvaccinated people, for the most part, choose to remain unprotected, relying on horse dewormer or voodoo or whatever it is they substitute for science. At least 25 school districtsas well as several higher education institutionshave implemented broad campus mask requirements, arguing they have a duty to protect their students, staff and communities. According to Bridge Michigan, over 6% of the state's K-12 students missed at least one day of in-person classes this week due to COVID-related shutdowns. Its frustrating, he said, because every dollar needed for salaries and to fulfill budgets already has been approved by the Legislature. Hoffman stressed the importance of school funding, saying in a written copy of her address, the biggest threat of widespread school closures comes not from the virus, but a school finance relic from 1980, the aggregate expenditure limit.. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Arizona public schools face budget cuts of $1.2 billion dollars unless the state Legislature lifts the school spending cap by the end of the month. The previous survey's results (Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022) remain available in . "That would mean laying off two-thirds of the teachers," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. The spending cap does not affect public charter schools, which educate about 240,000 K-12 students. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, Independent, nonprofit investigative journalism for Arizona. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". "This year, it seems it's turned into a little bit . Its time to work together for the good of our children, families, communityand the future of this great state. All rights reserved. Think of the economic impact on our community that comes from laying off thousands of teachers and staff. Performance & security by Cloudflare. The measure did not need to be signed by the Governor. School's out for the rest of the school year, as a result of the pandemic. Close your doors for even a day and you will . We will continue to work with families, public health experts and school leaders to ensure our kids can stay in the classroom and parents have a choice always.. While the education system was strained due to the COVID-19 pandemic and learning shifts, Hoffman said the biggest threat to schools is far from the virus or its complications. Consequently, this list will no longer be updated unless case rates again force a substantial number of schools to close. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Yes. It requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers. All stories must run in their entirety unless otherwise noted or agreed upon after discussion with AZCIR. Though some counties and school districts are monitoring outbreaks at the local level, there is no centralized tracking system. On Aug. 16, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled the ban therefore would not take effect until Sept. 29. Thats a death rate of 0.02%. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. Look at our options. The Fifty. Gov. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Or more specifically, we will pay … for parents to send their kids to private school. Listen to public health experts and school leaders. We need an override by the Legislature, and then we need to fix it for the future.. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Hannah must make his decision by March 10, after the deadline for the Legislature to override the spending cap, but Hannah said he could not pinpoint when he would rule., There are no ulterior motives, he told The Republic. In the past, when districts hit the decades-old aggregate expenditure limit, lawmakers voted to override it which hasn't . I originally planned to give a different speech today, she said. Then work with us to abolish this arbitrary, antiquated policy. I get the decision out when I get it out., Ducey defends use of school funding in face of feds threat to reclaim it. District Administration. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Published: 01/12/2022. How aggressively will the state enforce the ban? Reassign students to Challenger or Don . It is a Constitutional Amendment that was passed by Arizona voters in 1980 which created a spending limitation for school districts based on the aggregate expenditure of all districts. Read more at UArizona News. TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Arizona Superintendent Kathy Hoffman is urging lawmakers to lift the school spending cap as public schools are facing nearly $1.2 billion in budget cuts. She said, for example, the Washington Elementary School District would lose over $25 million, Miami Unified School District would lose nearly $2 million, and Deer Valley Unified School District would lose more than $36 million. Due to a high number of new Covid cases, Atlanta Public Schools went remote for the first week of the new year, with a . Updated by the minute, our Dallas Cowboys NFL Tracker: News and views and moves inside The Star and around the league . 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. They also asked the governor to authorize Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, or school vouchers, for all students trapped in those districts. They may get sick but for them it is, thank God, more like getting the flu than getting a death sentence. 360 Hiatt Drive, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418. Lane, who is a digital production intern with The Arizona Republic, is working for the Phoenix news bureau. I think the Democrats are obviously trying to create the impression that were not going to (override the limit) and schools are going to go over the cliff, when in reality, around here, no ones really talking about that, he said. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. State Sen. T.J. Shope, a Republican, does not support repealing the cap. The latest Arizona headlines, national news events of the day + sports and weather updates. 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..
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