You can’t strengthen Arizona schools by dismantling the team behind our teachers

Arizona's Proposition 320, referred by the GOP-led legislature, would require larger school districts to spend at least 60% of operational budgets on 'direct instructional expenses,' with the Auditor General defining what counts. Districts falling short would face escalating penalties starting in the 2027-28 school year, eventually losing their entire Classroom Site Fund allocation for continued noncompliance.

The op-ed, drawing on the author's Air Force experience, argues that nurses, counselors, custodians, and other support staff are essential infrastructure, not administrative bloat, and notes Arizona's district administrative spending already runs about half the national level. It warns that mandating more money into one category without new funding just forces schools to cannibalize the rest of their operations.

The piece cites Arizona's teacher shortage, running at double the national attrition rate, as real but argues compensation is only one piece of a larger problem involving class size, workload, and student support.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.