Last Wednesday, teachers, administrators and supporters gathered outside of schools in Winslow and Holbrook for a staged “walk-in with teachers.” They did this as part of a movement of Arizona teachers they are calling #RedForEd in which they inform communities and lawmakers of their needs as educators. In support of this movement, each Wednesday, teachers, students and parents statewide are encouraged to wear red.
In Winslow, Jefferson Elementary School first grade teacher Clairyssa Ballesteros said, “The goal is to help inform our community members and to see who in the community is here to support us.” The information the movement strives to convey is the need for higher pay for teacher, as well as better overall funding for schools. Ballesteros continued, “This is more about restoring funding for kids and getting them what they need.”
One of those needs is to have high quality teachers in rural communities. Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas said in a statement for the Arizona Department of Education, “All of my efforts as superintendent are driven by the idea that Arizona children should leave school with the knowledge they need to determine their future, achieve their goals and be successful citizens. Unfortunately, without highly effective teachers in every classroom we will always fall short of that goal.”
Currently, Arizona has over 2,000 teacher vacancies and 3,400 classrooms without a trained or certified teacher. The #RedForEd movement is asking Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona State Legislature to re-examine the pay scale and benefits packages offered to Arizona teachers. According to the teacher coalition called Arizona Educators United, “if Arizona teachers receive an 11.6 percent raise, then we would be ranked 48th in the nation for teacher pay.” Educators in the state are asking for a pay increase of 20 percent.
The office of the Arizona Auditor General said, “Arizona districts spend less on administrative costs than the national average.” Despite this, Arizona schools also spend about $3.30 less per student than the national average, ranking Arizona 48th in per pupil spending. Arizona comes in 50th in counselor to student ratio, and 48th in teacher to student ratio.
The low rankings are in part because of a desperate lack of funding. Arizona Educators United said, “Since 2008, Arizona has cut $1.5 billion in school funding, more than any other state.”
Before the close of the legislature on Thursday, Gov. Doug Ducey released a statement explaining that he will grant teachers a pay increase. In the press release, Ducey assured teachers that he is, “continuing investments in Arizona’s education system by increasing teacher salaries 20 percent by the beginning of the 2020 school year.”
Despite that promise, educators are still skeptical. Expect More Arizona, an education initiative, said, “As we consider his plan, we still need a long-term funding solution that supports the entire education continuum and ensures safe learning environments and access to 21st century resources for educators and students across the state.”
Progress Now Arizona also responded, “Governor Ducey announced a last minute funding proposal to appease Arizona educators. Governor Doug Ducey and his fellow Republicans are clearly terrified of the power of the grassroots #RedforEd movement. However, the Governor made no mention of how he would pay for his proposed 20 percent over three years salary increase for teachers.”
Josselyn Berry, co-director at Progress Now continued, “Given Ducey’s history of lying about education the plan that he released today, which doesn’t include even a basic outline of where the money will come from, should be taken with not just a grain of salt, but an ocean’s worth. As recently as this week, Ducey was on the record accusing teachers of putting on a political circus and telling them they should get the facts on education funding. Now he’s hoping our educators will forget his years of disrespect and disregard in exchange for a plan they haven’t even seen.”
For now, area educators intend to continue wearing red in support of the movement. Winslow Junior High School art instructor Christa Knox said, “Arizona, and the country for that matter, needs to care more about education.”
According to Ducey’s office, this initiative is in addition to his plan to fully restore recession-era cuts over the next five years, all without raising taxes while maintaining Arizona’s balanced budget. Though it is unclear how Ducey plans to pay for the increase in salary, he said, “I’ve been paying attention to what’s going on across the state, and the winners today are the teachers of Arizona.”
