When are our leaders going to quit cheaping out on our kids' education?

Congratulations, Arizona. Despite voters’ best efforts to change things, Arizona’s public schools remain among the most poorly funded in the nation.

A new Census Bureau report says Arizona invested less in the education of our children than all but two other states (Utah and Idaho) in fiscal 2020. Even Mississippi spent more on its children and isn’t that saying something?

Meanwhile, Arizona’s budget surplus is has passed wow and is headed full-scale toward holy sh ... moly.

It seems like a pretty easy fix. If, in fact, our leaders want to fix it.

Arizona spent $8,785 in state, local and federal funds to educate a student during the 2019-20 school year, according to the Census report, released last week.

The national average, meanwhile, was $13,494.

Ducey's response? To invest in rich folks, not kids

But what, you ask, about the spending increases approved by Arizona’s self-proclaimed education governor and Republican legislators – the money that became suddenly available after 50,000 people took to the streets in 2018 to demand better pay for teachers?

According to the report, per-student spending on Arizona schools did, indeed, grow by 17.3% between 2015 and 2020. But nationally it grew, on average, by 18.5%, and nationally schools were already light years ahead of us in their commitment to public education.

Another view: Schools' best shot at more money lies in this simple change

It’s not for lack of trying. Arizona voters have long placed more support for education as a top priority.

In 2020, voters passed Proposition 208, the Invest in Education Act, raising income taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents to boost school spending.

Gov. Doug Ducey’s response in 2021 was to invest in rich people by slashing their income taxes. And the Arizona Supreme Court’s response was to toss out Proposition 208 as unconstitutional in 2022.

Meanwhile, we're sitting on $5.3 billion

So here we are, with lower taxes for rich people and the same old poorly funded public schools for the nearly 1 million Arizona children who attend them.

Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, has proposed replacing the lion’s share of the nearly $1 billion schools lost when the Supreme Court tossed out Proposition 208. But he’s about as popular as a leper in Republican ranks, given his refusal to buy into the stolen election hysteria and the resulting “election integrity” bills to make it more difficult to vote.

Boyer’s school funding proposal is hardly a heavy lift. The state is sitting on a $5.3 billion budget surplus.

Yet here we are, approaching June with no budget in place for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

This is Arizona’s chance, finally, to stop relegating the education of our children to the bottom of the barrel.

Why don't leaders care that Johnny can't read?

Oh, I know. Money alone doesn’t improve student performance. Isn’t that how the refrain goes from the cheapskates who short our children?

Well, they’re right. Money alone won’t improve our schools.

But a systemic lack of money is guaranteed to result in overcrowded classrooms, fleeing teachers and a depressingly high number of kids who can’t read.

Only two states in the entire country invest less in the education of their students than Arizona.

Meanwhile, our leaders are sitting, literally, on billions of dollars.

The question isn’t, why can’t Johnny read?

It’s why don’t Arizona’s leaders care?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona is 48th in school spending, despite a $5.3B surplus