Horne: Deficit impact on education minimal

Arizona's growing deficit will have an impact on education, but compared with other state services, education fares well, Tom Horne, Arizona school superintendent, assured a Yuma audience Thursday.

Taking time out from celebrating his 37th wedding anniversary, Horne accepted an invitation to address education professionals at the Yuma Elementary School District 1 offices.

He began by noting when he was vice chair of the state Legislature's education committee, he received more letters in support of education from Yuma residents than anywhere else in the state, which showed how important the issue is to Yumans.

The state will allocate $5 billion statewide for education during 2009-10 and another $3 billion disbursed among local communities, Horne noted.

"We're expecting a 2 percent cut for next year but neither the governor's (Jan Brewer) or the Legislature's proposal will go beyond a two-point something cut," he said.

He went on to say that depending on how well the economy recovers from the current downturn, the budget could be revised in midyear. But the Legislature's budget makes cuts more probable for 2009-10 than the governor's because the Legislature assumes next year's budget to be $3 billion while the governor assumes it to be $4 billion.

Horne said he does not take sides in the dispute and that it is the responsibility of the legislative and executive branches to reach a compromise.

"My feeling is they're getting closer. The biggest problem is in the Senate where they're a little more conservative. The important thing for schools is there is no more than 2 percent cuts. We had a 2 percent cut last year and it will probably be the same next year. My own department has taken a 20 percent cut over the last two years."

On the subject of standardized tests, Horne came out strongly in favor of the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). He pointed out it was not his invention, having been the standard 12 years before he took office, but in previous times, each new state superintendent had a habit of changing standards assessments.

Students need to meet AIMS standards to graduate now and that is a driving factor that motivates them to apply themselves, Horne said. If students can pass AIMS, they are ready for employment, which is a minimal standard.

But being job ready is not the same as being college ready, Horne said. Currently AIMS test students at the 10th grade level, and Horne advocates an 11th grade level of AIMS to ensure more students proceed to higher education.

Horne also said he would like to see more broader based testing of AIMS to include history and the arts. Some high school graduates are not sufficiently adequate readers, he noted, even though "they can decode People magazine," they cannot comprehend history or science. He would also like to see AIMS testing for students as young as the third grade.

Several Yuma superintendents - YUHSD's Toni Badone, Crane's Cindy Didway and Antelope's Robert Klee - emphatically complained about the problem of attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers.

Badone noted in critical areas of math, science, special education and English, it is hard for districts to find teachers who meet the standard of highly qualified.

She also said this year YUHSD did not renew the contracts of 25 teachers who were noncontinuing because they were not highly qualified. These were teachers with just one to three years' experience and did not meet the standard as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and so they had to be laid off.

Horne said his office is doing all it can to obtain some flexibility to allow those teachers who have a certificate, and as long as they are working toward highly qualified status through a university internship program they can be retained by the districts.