Giving Compass' Take:

• Jonathan Butcher argues that increasing education funding has not consistently provided outcome improvements for Arizona students because of the inconsistencies in the use of the funding. 

• How can policymakers better direct funding to increase impact? 

• Learn how increased spending on high-value improvements can improve outcomes. 

Four changes to Arizona’s K-12 education spending made between 2016 and 2018 will impact taxpayers, families, students, and schools in the coming years. The 2018 school administrator and teacher strikes in Arizona put the state’s K-12 spending system in the spotlight, but state lawmakers and voters had already made significant changes to Arizona’s education spending patterns in recent years, starting with a ballot initiative that voters passed in 2016. Lawmakers committed to still more increases in 2017 and again with legislation extending Proposition 301 prior to the school closures in April 2018. The spending increases enacted as part of the 2019 budget eventually ended the strike, though administrators and teachers did not elicit anything more than what lawmakers promised before schools were closed.

However, because school district offices still determine school budgets and teacher salaries, there are no guarantees that more state spending will result in increased teacher pay, nor does this additional spending address ongoing wasteful practices among school districts.

Research from Arizona and around the country continues to demonstrate there is no consistent relationship between increases in education spending and student achievement. For example, Arizona student test scores improved during the recent financial downturn when state education spending was decreasing.

These facts do not mean that education spending doesn’t matter, but rather that students can be successful even during times of declining resources. Empirical research demonstrates an inconsistent relationship between student success and education spending. Future discussions about Arizona’s K-12 spending should include state audits that show districts’ wasteful spending practices even during lean budget years. For example, state officials should enforce new requirements that districts repurpose vacant or underused school buildings instead of holding on to the facilities at taxpayer expense.

Lawmakers should also consider ways to simplify Arizona’s spending formula with methods already applied to a small number of students through education savings accounts. This way, taxpayers, families, and teachers can better see how education spending is used and make sure the focus is on students’ needs. Finally, state officials should use reports of district waste to hold school districts accountable for poor spending habits before the legislature approves any additional funds.