Governor Jan Brewer told the legislature to pay the public schools the money they are owed from a recent court decision. School districts are facing budget deficits and don’t know if they can rely on those funds.
Tucson Unified School District is facing a budget deficit next year. School Board President Adelita Grijalva said with the unstable nature of state funding they can’t plan more than one year ahead.
“It just depends really on who’s elected, who’s in the legislature," Grijalva said. "Every year we are looking at a deficit, every year our funds have been cut, every single year. So we are always looking at a deficit.”
School districts are increasingly turning to override and bond issues to replace state funding with money from local tax payers. Those measures allow districts to keep staff, art, music, librarians and other extracurriculars. This November in Maricopa County, 22 override and bond issues are on the ballot.