Arizona Supreme Court Again to Decide Fate of Arizona Public Schools in Appeal Following Bizarre, Politically-Charged, Lower-Court Ruling
Children's Action Alliance is disappointed and confused by the “political” ruling issued Friday by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury, the #InvestInEd campaign is again headed to the Arizona Supreme Court.
The Superior Court decision prompts questions about the future of ballot initiatives in Arizona.
"A Maricopa County judge didn’t just throw a tax increase to better fund Arizona’s schools off the ballot. He virtually ensured that voters will never will be able to decide whether Invest in Ed should become law. Or much of anything else. The Arizona Legislature, in recent years, has dealt a series of systematic body blows to our constitutional right to make laws at the ballot box. But Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury? In one swift judicial upper cut, he may have just delivered a knock-out punch," read Laurie Roberts' Monday morning op-ed on az central.
"Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury’s ruling, if upheld, could make things infinitely more tricky for citizen-led initiatives, namely having to craft language suitable not just to supporters but the opposition, as well," claims Abe Kwok in a similar op-ed.
"These challenges will ultimately make their own way to the state Supreme Court. The justices should reject them. And, to avoid a continuing avalanche of such challenges in future elections, they should clarify what was peculiarly egregious about the 2018 Invest in Ed initiative that warranted an exception to the generally broad discretion initiative proponents should have in summarizing their measures," wrote Robert Robb in his own op-ed.
Children’s Action Alliance supports the Invest in Education Act because it will produce hundreds of millions of new, sustainable dollars annually for public schools so that every Arizona child will have the opportunity to receive the quality education they deserve. Arizona has one of the worst teacher shortages and some of the largest class sizes in the nation. This measure will enable us to provide meaningful pay raises for teachers, classroom aides, and other student support staff. This will also enable schools to hire more counselors, school nurses, and other staff who keep students healthy and safe. Investing in public education now is especially important so school staff and administrators can help students recover the learning losses caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
You can stay a part of the movement to fund Arizona's public schools. Click here to sign up to get Invest in Ed updates and find ways to support our efforts as Invest in Ed moves through the appeal process to make it to the November ballot.
Paid for by Children’s Action Alliance and the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. Not authorized by any candidate.
