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Democratic members of the state House and Senate Tuesday introduced a plan to add nearly $4 billion to K-12 funding over 10 years.
The proposal comes amid discussion of a possible special legislative session this fall on education funding. That follows a steady level of conversation and criticism since March, when Gov. Doug Ducey and the Republican-controlled Legislature approved a budget that kept Arizona among the lowest-ranking states in school funding.
House Minority Leader Eric Meyer called the Democrats' plan a simple solution.
“Using $74 million we had in the budget this year and making that permanent, using $250 million in projected revenue that the Joint Legislative Budget Committee has said will be there for at least the next three years,” Meyer said.
The $74 million is what the Legislature added to the budget as an inflation adjustment, and the $250 million is what has been projected as a state budget surplus annually for the through 2018.
The Democrats would also put a cap on corporate tax credits for donations to School Tuition Organizations, which give scholarships to students who attend private schools.
The plan would still allow businesses and individuals to make contributions to public schools and take a straight tax credit for the amount contributed up to certain levels. It would also still allow individuals to donate to STOs and receive a tax credit.
Meyer said the plan accounts for paying the K-12 education system money owed to cover inflation increases for several years in which they were not paid.
It was the latest in a series of proposals being floated among state officials. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has proposed using the state land Trust Fund to add more than $2 billion in the next decade. Republican legislative leaders were briefing members Tuesday and Wednesday on their plan, using a combination of the state budget surplus and the Land Trust Fund.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas has asked for $400 million to increase teacher pay and hire more teachers. She was scheduled to release details of the plan as part of her education strategy Thursday in Phoenix.
The state has $458 million in its "rainy day" fund and the state finished fiscal 2014-15 with a $381 million surplus, according to the nonpartisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
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