Goldwater Institute presses for prop passage

The Independent
September 27, 2010
Mike Leiby

WHITE MOUNTAINS - Director of the Center for Economic Prosperity at the Goldwater Institute, Dr. Byron Schlomach, says Arizona voters will have to make a decision in November whether or not to keep two special funds, one of which is designed to help fund early education.

A "yes" vote on Proposition 302 removes about $325 million in tax dollars from a special fund that has accumulated over the last 12 years total for use in programs like First Things First.

According to Schlomach, if voters in November vote "yes" on Prop 302 the nearly $325 million now in its coffers from tobacco taxes will be transferred into the general fund to help balance the state's still struggling recession-impacted budget. He recommends this action, because the "First Things First" program has been virtually inactive. The money may as well be used to balance the budget, he says, since it has not been used to educate children.

The other one Schlomach addressed was Prop. 301 which was put in place to help safeguard public trust lands.

"Prop. 301 would take almost $125 million from the Growing Smarter Fund, which was created in 1998 to buy state trust lands and protect them from development, even though only a tiny fraction of Arizona's land will ever be developed. Prop. 302 would take $325 million from First Things First, an early childhood education program created in 2006 that has no legislative oversight and until this spring hadn't spent any of its money on programs for children," said Schlomach.

The Arizona Legislature formulated the current budget assuming that these two propositions would pass, but if they fail, the state funding shortfall will be at least $700 million, he said.

Schlomach added that with federal funding for the state Medicaid program predicted to be lower than expected and tax revenues coming in slower than forecasted, a silver-lining appears very distant.

Earlier this year state lawmakers identified $862 million in "contingency cuts" that would have occurred if Prop. 100, the 18 percent tax increase, hadn't been approved.

"Public education would have borne the brunt of the reductions. Now, it's quite likely these contingency plans will become a reality," Schlomach said.

Although organized opposition to propositions 301 and 302 has already begun, no one has come forward leading the campaign to pass the November ballot measures.

Schlomach believes that if no one steps up to lead the propositions to victory, public education will not be spared from the spending reductions that Proposition 100 promised to prevent.

The people with First Things First disagree that taking away their money would solve the problem saying the funds are essential to early childhood development in Arizona.

Regional Director for Navajo/Apache Counties Kate Dobler-Allen was in Show Low Wednesday visiting Ehmke's Child Haven Pre-school at 841 E. McNeil and Successful Beginnings Charter School next door. Accompanying her was Association for Supportive Child Care Quality First Coach Supervisor Krista Edge and First Things First Community Outreach Liaison Michelle Pansulla along with others.

All of the women said First Things First provides not only early education, but other vital services like oral health education and fluoride treatments for pre-school children, one of the things taking place Wednesday at Ehmke's Child Haven Pre-school.

Without First Things First (prop. 302), they say all of those benefits are in jeopardy of being lost altogether given the state's track record of under-funding education and such programs.

The governing board of the organization issued a resolution on May 18 urging residents throughout the state to be part of a movement to defeat the measure by voting "no" in November.

In that resolution the board said it had repeatedly offered the state Legislature an interest-free loan of $300 million during last year's budget sessions, according to Communications Director Liz Barker Alvarez.

Referring to the article written by Schlomach, First Things First Executive Director Rhian Evans Allvin said it was nothing more than "political gamesmanship" adding that if the Legislature was indeed only interested in balancing the budget they would have accepted the organizations offers of an interest-free $300 million loan.

Allvin said that programs like First Things First benefit not only the families and children involved, but the entire state. She said the program translates directly to a skilled work force because the children involved have a higher rate of going to college, therefore they will be more highly educated, skilled and desirable as adults by employers who might be looking for a location to expand or open a new facility.

The Valley of the Sun United Way and the League of Women Voters of Arizona also oppose Prop. 302. The Arizona Farm Bureau and the Arizona tax Research Association rank among its supporters.

All of November's ballot measures are available for public review in the Ballot Propositions and Judicial Performance Review Publicity Pamphlet put out by the office of Arizona's Secretary of State Ken Bennett. Voters can also visit www.azsos.gov where they can click on the "Election Ballot Proposition and Voter's Guide" on the right hand side of the page.