As Governor Doug Ducey talks of adding more than $100 million in new investments for education, a Senate bill has surfaced that could jeopardize desegregation funds allotted to school districts with high enrollment of lower income minority students, including the Holbrook School District.
Senate Bill 1174, presented by District 21 Senator Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, won’t necessarily eliminate those funds. If approved, it would instead require that schools eligible for that type of funding go to the voters in order to receive it rather than have it be automatically taken as part of property tax payments. For the Holbrook School District, that would mean asking local voters to continue to support the $2.5 million paid through their taxes.
Opponents say the districts that have access to the money are exploiting loopholes in the state statutes that allow them to do it on the premise of federal mandates that have long been fulfilled.
Those supporting the bill include District 6 Senator Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, who believes the state is already paying enough for education and that taxation for additional funds is not something that citizens want. Holbrook Superintendent Robbie Koerperich said the funds are vital to providing the services needed for the students served by the district and he hopes legislators will see that. “We have been fortunate to have legislators that have supported education funding in Arizona and we hope that will continue this year,” he said.
The Holbrook District receives desegregation funding because it was subject to an Office of Civil Rights complaint in 1987. According to Dr. Koerperich, the OCR found that the Holbrook District served a significant population of language minority students, 65 percent Native American and 12 percent Hispanic. “These students, at the time of the complaint, were not being tested for English language proficiency and were not being provided adequate services to help them learn the English language,” explained Koerperich.
He said that since this finding, the district has worked tirelessly to address the civil right of being able to communicate in the English language through reduced class sizes to assist language minority students. “We have invested in professional development to help our teachers learn strategies to help our language minority students become college and career ready, and we have invested in technologies like sound amplification systems for classrooms, computers for language programs and other classroom technology to help our language minority students succeed,” he said.
The district also employs a parent liaison who works with parents to help them help their children succeed. The funds go directly into the district’s academic programs that help all students succeed.
“Desegregation is a poor term for this topic. Legislators are correct that we do not ‘segregate’ students and we never have. Legislators must understand that the original Office of Civil Rights complaint was not about segregation, it was about civil rights,” he said.
According to Koerperich, the concern for civil rights that was present during the original complaint is still present today. “We still have language minority students attending our school system that need strong programs to help them become college and career ready. I would even argue that it is more pertinent today with the advancement of curriculum, skills, and college and career ready rigor that our students now face,” he stated.
He believes removal of those funds would have a major impact on minority students and, indirectly, on all students. He noted that class sizes would increase, and that the district would not be able to keep up with the advancement of technology, capital funds would decrease and professional development programs for teachers would diminish.
“We employ 22 employees that assist in serving our language minority students. I am fearful that the district will not be able to sustain the high quality academic programs we have, as well as sustain a 20 percent higher graduation rate for our Native students than the state average and a 19 percent higher average for our Hispanic population. Our system works,” exclaimed Koerperich, adding that the burden should rest upon the State of Arizona to serve language minority students in the best manner possible to help all students become college and career ready. Unfortunately, that burden now rests with local communities.
Beginning with the 2018 elections, the school districts would either receive approval to continue levying the additional funds for a period of seven years, or phase them out over the course of five years.
SB1174 was assigned to the House Appropriations and Rules committees on Jan. 23, and is awaiting a public hearing.
