Proposition 204 is just another tax hike that benefits the few.
In this election, like many in the past, bureaucrats are going in guns blazing with one of their most efficient rhetorical tools: “Do it for the children!”
In a recent Proposition 204 ad, Dawn Koberstein, president of the Chandler Education Association said, “I would be delighted if this passed, because it means that people care about our children, and they care about our schools, and they care about our future.” Following Koberstein’s logic, those who are against Proposition 204 are heartless monsters that could care less about children and their future.
Here are the facts:
Arizona’s Auditor General released a report that should cut through the feel-good rhetoric spewed from the mouths of those who support the tax hike. In 2011, spending per student in this state has increased almost 40 percent since 2001. Money allocated to classroom instruction, on the other hand, has decreased by 6.7 percent since 2001.
Right now, little over half, 56.9 percent to be precise, of all education spending goes to the classroom, including “salaries and benefits for teachers, aids and coaches” and “supplies such as pencils and paper, athletics and activities like band or choir,” according to an Arizona Daily Star story.
The additional money that would be taxed via Proposition 204 will be filtered into different funds run by bureaucrats — administrators outside the classroom. Half of it will go to “Quality Education and Performance Fund” which seeks to increase performance of K-12 education. Filled with arbitrary goals and vague language, there are no real strings attached to this money. It’s not unreasonable to say that giving a half a billion dollars to bureaucrats with almost no requirements is probably not the way to improve education.
Proposition 204 is no less a sham to centralize money — not to mention, power — within special interest groups outside of education. A vote for Proposition 204 isn’t a vote for the most local figures of education — the teachers.
Moreover, about 225 million of funds will be appropriated for special interests, among them well-connected contractors to build and rebuild roads. This has stopped being an argument about better education. This is just another spending bill, and with every spending bill comes the crony piglets, fighting to get their share.
By the way, if you are an ASU student, part of your fees went to support this political campaign. That’s right, the Arizona Student Association, which we all fund, voted to contribute $100,000 to the Proposition 204 campaign.
Real education reform won’t come until we realize that throwing money at problems isn’t a viable answer. There are real solutions that have been effective and are starting to be implemented for special-needs students, like the Education Saving Accounts. It gives parents more choices, decentralizes the educational system and creates competition that will reward schools that use the money they receive more efficiently. These are programs that create incentives to improve the quality of education.
Carlos Alfaro is an executive board member for Students For Liberty.
Reach the columnist at calfaro2@asu.edu or follow him at @AlfaroAmericano
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