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Honking cars once again encircled the state Capitol on Wednesday afternoon as parents, teachers and students protested a bill that would slash education funding if passed.

Opponents of Senate Bill 1783 say it would create a tax loophole for the ultra-wealthy and largely undo Proposition 208, which voters passed in November to add a 3.5% surcharge on annual incomes over $250,000 for single people and $500,000 for married couples filing jointly to increase public education funding.

The bill would create a new tax category to allow small-business owners to avoid the tax hike. The Legislature’s budget staff estimated Prop. 208 would bring in $827 million in the first year, and that SB 1783 would reduce that to about $300 million.

SB 1783 passed the Senate on a party-line vote of 16-14 and has been sent to the House where it has been assigned to committees.

Rebecca Gau, executive director of the advocacy organization Stand for Children Arizona which was a major supporter of Prop. 208, explained that Prop. 208 directs the raised funds into various “buckets,” the largest of which would go toward teacher retention, pay increases and recruitment.

“We have a serious teacher shortage in Arizona,” Gau said. “Hasn’t improved at all with the pandemic.”

This year began with nearly 2,000 vacant teaching positions across the state, according to December 2020 survey data from the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic, more teachers have resigned in the middle of the school year: 1,360 have severed employment since the beginning of the school year, compared with 987 last year, according to the data.

Teacher says she worries SB 1783 would cause more teachers to leave

Gau said some money from Prop. 208would also go toward mentorship programs, allowing an experienced mentor to help guide new teachers. Gau said mentorship programs are one of the tools effective at preventing new teachers from seeking a new line of work.

Hannah Williams, a first-grade teacher, told The Arizona Republic that it’s imperative the state’s public education system receive the full funding estimate from Prop. 208.

“A lot of our schools have roach problems and mice problems,” Williams said. She said many schools have leaks whenever it rains and bathrooms are often in disrepair, but the schools aren’t funded enough to afford repairs. While Prop. 208 money wouldn’t go to repairs, she said it’s an example of the problems facing education. 

Williams said she felt the state Legislature is overriding the will of the people by attempting to pass SB 1783.

“We get like the tiniest win and then they yank it away from us every single time,” Williams said.

Williams said her biggest fear, however, is that SB 1783 would cause a mass exodus of Arizona teachers should it be signed into law. The bill makes her consider moving to another state with a better-funded school system.

“I think about it all the time,” Williams said. “Every time I sit through a committee meeting, I’m like — I do question it. Like, is it worth it?”

Bill’s sponsor has said it’s about helping small business owners

Marilyn Duerbeck, a retired reading specialist, told The Republic she’s concerned SB 1783 would further impede the state’s ability to fund education.

“I think 208 would help to fully fund education, which it has not been since 2008, was it?” Duerbeck said. “And so if this goes into effect, we’ll be back where we started from.”

From 2008 to 2015, Arizona slashed more money for schools compared to any other state, dropping funding per student by about 36.6%. 

Duerbeck said she considered SB 1783 an insult to voters who passed Prop 208 last year and is another sign that some state lawmakers don’t care about what most Arizonans want.

SB 1783’s primary sponsor, state Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, has argued that the bill doesn’t target Prop. 208 and exists to protect small businesses.

“I do think there’s something to be said for the fact that, for those who have an issue with the 208 — any 208 connection — 208 was sold as not impacting small businesses,” Mesnard said during a Senate floor session on Feb. 24. “And so this is just making sure — at least those that opt to do this — that it is consistent with how it was pitched to the voters who, obviously in a very, very close race, passed Prop. 208.”

Gau, however, pointed to a fiscal analysis from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee that disputes Mesnard’s claims.

“It says multiple times in the JLBC report that there’s no impact to the general fund,” Gau said. “That the impact is only to the Prop 208 fund — which is a huge red flag that this isn’t about anything other than Prop 208 and protecting those wealthy individuals who don’t feel like paying what the voters have asked them to pay as their fair share.”

Republic reporter Lily Altavena contributed to this article. 

Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.

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