Dear Parents and
Friends of Public Education,
We are coming off
a great victory at the State Legislature- a formula for excess
utilities was included in the final State budget which saved our
district upwards of $5 million in our budget! If you haven't
already, please take a moment to thank Rep. Michele Reagan (R-
District 8- mreagan@azleg.gov)
and Sen. Carolyn Allen (R- District 8- callen@azleg.gov ) for
their leadership on and steadfast support of this issue.
But our work is
never done... the Legislature is rumored to be considering a
special session to revisit the budget and you can be sure that all
"new" expenditures, including public school utilities, will be up
for discussion. We will keep you informed as these negotiations
begin and let you know how you can help your legislators
understand the importance of public education.
In the meantime,
we also have some exciting elections coming up! Here's what you
can do to get ready:
1)
Get registered!
Voter
registration cards are in every school office. If you don’t find
one there, let us know and then log onto https://servicearizona.com/webapp/evoter/
to register online or download a copy of the registration form at http://www.azsos.gov/election/forms/VoterRegistrationForm.pdf.
The deadline for registration is 29 days before an election so
you still have time before the general election.
2)
Discover your district!
If you do not know what your state legislative district is, simply log
onto our website, and go to Legislative Watch. There is a link
called "Find Your Legislator" that will help you figure it all
out.
3)
Be Informed!
Your vote makes a difference, so don't cast it until you have
gotten to know the candidates and their positions on issues that
are important to you. Again, on the SPC website under Legislative
Watch you will find some helpful resources. There is a link
called Representative Voting Records that will let you know
how your representatives voted on the legislation pertaining to
education. Please note: SPC did not take a position on HB
2713: this as a religion in schools bill - so the support and
oppose positions correspond only with the Arizona Education
Association's positions. Also, the reason the BUDGET line is
larger is because that was the only issue SPC worked on last year
and we wanted to give the issue due prominence. This budget
included the fix for excess utilities. A "no" vote was a vote
against the fix.
To also help you
be informed, we have linked to the Secretary of State's webpage
about the proposed initiatives for the 2008 ballot. Please note
that we will be sharing more information on the initiatives and
candidates after the primaries.
4)
Get Involved!
Throughout the year, you will be asked to contact your State
representatives, but why wait?! Go ahead and send over an e-mail
introducing yourself; ask about their votes on issues important to
you; ask them about their platforms for this election campaign.
Remember to be brief and polite, put something in the subject
line indicating the purpose of your note, and sign with your full
name and address. A legislator can only represent your interests
if s/he knows what they are!
Finally, be sure
to look for information on the SPC candidate forums that will be
held later this Fall. We hope to invite all the Governing Board
candidates to a forum and all the State legislative candidates to
one, too. This will be your chance to find out about your
candidates and where public schools fit into their legislative
priorities.
Thank you for
caring about public education, and for championing funding for our
kids' educations. Together, we can make a difference!
Francesca Thomas,
VP Legislative Liaison
