From the political notebook:
Someone forgot to give Randy Pullen the memo, but in the modern political era, political parties are not truly independent political forces. They exist primarily as vehicles for the conduct of certain political tasks for the party's officeholders and candidates.
In today's political world, a political party chairman has only two real functions: raise money and say patently ridiculous things about the other side.
Education Finance
The Arizona Republic
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The Arizona Republic
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
At least three questions remain unanswered eight years after Arizona changed the way it funds school construction.
What's good enough?
How much inequity is acceptable?
How do you pay the increasing costs?
It's time to talk about the answers.
But first, a nod to history.
The East Valley Tribune
Monday, January 22, 2007
A Jan. 12 announcement about the first round of grants from the Science Foundation of Arizona renews our concerns about allowing this group to fund education projects with little state oversight.
Casa Grande Valley Newspaper
Saturday, May 27, 2006
SIGNAL PEAK - The Central Arizona College Governing Board on Thursday approved a $38.2 million budget for 2006-07 that includes a slight reduction in the property tax rate.
The rate will drop from $2.10 per $100 net assessed value to $2.06.
The Arizona Republic
Friday, April 21, 2006
There is no more widely and confidently held belief about the Arizona public school system than that it has one of the highest dropout rates in the country. A recent study by the Manhattan Institute, however, indicates that isn't true.
Arizona Capitol Times
Friday, November 18, 2005
A recent article in the Arizona Capitol Times included a response from a community college spokesperson to a letter to legislators from the Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA).
Kathy Boyle, executive director of the Arizona Community College Association (ACCA), said most of the classes listed in the ATRA letter are paid for by tuition and class fees, not state funding. (Lawmaker targets state funding of community college ‘fun’ courses, Nov. 11)
Associated Press
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
A new 13-member state commission is taking on the task of studying whether dozens of elementary and high school districts across Arizona should be combined into unified districts.
It's an issue that's proved too hot to handle before, but supporters hope changes from previous merger proposals may make any eventual unification recommendations more palatable to voters and local officials.
East Valley Tribune
Saturday, November 5, 2005
Voters take note: A publicity pamphlet sent out by the Paradise Valley Unified School District might be misleading.
For Tuesday’s election, district officials compiled information and mailed pamphlets to residents in the district at a cost of roughly $46,000.
The "pro" and "con" statements are written by interested parties, but are not factchecked by anyone at the Maricopa County Elections Office, which printed the pamphlets, said Yvonne Reed, the office’s spokeswoman.
Casa Grande Dispatch
Friday, November 4, 2005
Santa Cruz Valley Union High School Superintendent Gene Bichekas told the Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology Governing Board that the high school plans to sue CAVIT for this year's funding.
"We are prepared to go forward with a lawsuit and let the judge decide the outcome," Bichekas said during Wednesday's regular CAVIT meeting.
Santa Cruz believes it should receive CAVIT funding this year for enrollment in its career and technology programs last year.
Copper Basin News
Thursday, October 20, 2005
The Hayden-Winkelman School Board has once again sought relief from high property tax rates from the Arizona State Legislature and while help may come from that corner, it might not take the form the district originally sought.