In the story "High-end jobs key to economy" that appeared last Monday in The Republic, prominent reference was made to Arizona's "rock-bottom" ranking in education. It also carried remarks by Gov. Janet Napolitano that accuse the state of "starving" education.

I was also in attendance at the "Metro Phoenix in 2012: Vibrant Economy or Also Ran?" presentations at the Arizona Biltmore, the backdrop for these statements. These notions and the governor's comments about Arizona's education system must be challenged. When the governor of this state, or any state for that matter, continually misrepresents the facts about education it is bound to have a dampening effect on perceptions of Arizona's true priorities. It certainly does not help attract quality employers to our state.

The Arizona Legislature directly, and the voters indirectly, have been and continue to be criticized for "starving and or underfunding" education. As the current chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and having served as Appropriations Committee chairman in the House for eight consecutive years, I am weary of this continuing misinformation campaign by certain segments of the education community and now our governor.

Having heard this "underfunding" myth for far too long, I instructed JLBC and Senate staff to research this issue during the past legislative session. The results of that research follow:


• Since 1994, Arizona has increased funding for day-to-day operations by 25 percent per pupil, adjusted for inflation, in an overall increase from $1.6 billion in '94 to $3.2 billion in 2003.


• Arizona is ranked in the upper half nationally in the meaningful education-funding measuring sticks. Based on 1999-2001 information from the National Education Association, U.S. Department of Commerce, American Federation of Teachers, Arizona Tax Research Association and the National Center for Education Statistics, Arizona ranks:


• First in the average salary of instructional staff on a cost-of-living basis, including salaries of teachers, principals, counselors, librarians, aides, etc.


• First in dollars spent for capital improvements on a per-pupil basis.


• 10th in dollars spent for capital improvements.


• 21st in total dollars spent on K-12.

-
• Third in dollars spent for administration.


• 24th in dollars spent on current operating expenses.


• 25th in average teacher's salary, taking into account cost of living.


• Arizona ranked 18th nationally for academic achievement of its students according to the bipartisan American Legislative Exchange Council. (This represents a combination of SAT and Eighth Grade Reading Test Performance)

The "per pupil" statistic is often used to advance a ranking of 47th to 50th nationally. But this calculation looks at education spending in a vacuum. The "per pupil" comparisons are misleading because, while other states may purport to spend more per pupil, the calculation does not take into account cost of living adjustments or uniformity as to what funding categories go into the calculation from state to state. For example, Arizona is first in capital expenditures per pupil, but none of those dollars is factored into Arizona's per-pupil calculations. It also does not reflect the actual investment of dollars to the classroom from school district to school district or state to state, nor does it reflect actual student achievement.

If some in Arizona wish to continue to play the political game of claiming our education system is underfunded and underachieving, then we can expect employers to think twice about locating in Arizona.

On the other hand, if the governor and others decide to act responsibly and start letting the rest of the country know the facts about Arizona's true commitment to education and the quality students our many fine teachers are producing, we will look much different to those high-end companies that are considering locating here.