PHOENIX — Republican lawmakers have a new plan to raise teacher pay in Arizona and they say it won't cost taxpayers a dime.
Senate and House Republicans, along with GOP School Superintendent Tom Horne, announced the "Teacher Pay Fund" Monday on the Capitol lawn. Here's what we know:
Arizona teacher pay has been ranked last in the nation when you account for wage and cost of living differences.
With the state facing a $400 million dollar budget deficit, there's not going to be much money around next year to give teachers a pay raise.
To keep public school teachers in the classroom, Republican lawmakers are proposing an average 7% pay raise - about $4,000 a year. The cost: about $300 million.
"The average teacher in Arizona makes $56,000 a year, our plan will increase the average teacher pay to over $60,000 per year," Senate President Warren Petersen of Gilbert said.
The money would come from the proceeds of state land endowment fund, created at statehood to fund education and other basic needs . If that sounds familiar, seven years ago Arizona voters boosted K-12 funding from the state land endowment with a narrow "yes" vote on Prop 123.
Under the Republican plan, all $300 million that is now spun off for K-12 schools would be funneled into the Teacher Pay Fund.
"It's the ultimate prioritization of what we think is most important in education in Arizona - a good teacher standing in front of students every day," said state Sen. Ken Bennett of Prescott, chair of the Senate Education Committee.
Here's the wrinkle in the Republican plan: The original Prop 123 has to be renewed by voters by 2026.
Republican lawmakers want to speed up the renewal with a statewide vote a year from now.
If the renewal is put on the ballot next year and approved by voters, the pay raises would be in teachers pockets by 2025, Petersen said.
"Voters are going to have the final say on this," Petersen said. "But I believe that the voters are going to choose to increase teacher pay."
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs hasn't responded to a request for comment.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day Monday, she said: "We are doing a deep dive into the budget, as we work on our executive proposal, given the constraints that we know we're facing in the next year."
Hobbs will lay out her priorities for Arizona in her State of the State speech on Jan. 8, 2024, opening day of the new legislative session.
Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, said in a prepared statement:
"Arizona's educators need a raise, and we're open to working with anyone who is serious about making that happen. As always, the devil is in the details... We look forward to learning more."