AZ kids & schools lose again under Brewer & GOP

Vote Goddard & Democratic to help turn Arizona around.

PHOENIX -- Arizona's children have lost out again. Arizona lost the Race to the Top, a federal stimulus grant program that made billions in grants available for states to improve their schools.

Guv Brewer's education team made an exceptionally poor showing in the first round applications for Race to the Top, ranking 40th out of the 41 applications submitted. In this second round, when it came the time for Arizona to be considered for this critical funding, she couldn't be bothered to go to D.C. to make a case for our students. Arizonans continue to send their hard earned money to Washington D.C. and Jan Brewer should be working to get it back for our children.

Obtaining this funding was critical for Arizona schools because Brewer has made massive cuts totalling more than one billion dollars to the education budget since she came into office. As a result of the budgets she signed, Arizona has sunk to 49th out of 50 states in per pupil funding.

Terry Goddard, the Democratic candidate for governor said, "Today's announcement highlights the failures of a governor who has no plan for educating our children. She complains - loudly and often - about so-called 'government bailouts,' but as it turns out, her only hope for our kids was a federal grant that her team couldn't win."

Goddard's detailed plan for improving education in Arizona, Making Arizona Schools Work , calls for Arizona to move from the bottom 10 in national surveys to the top 10 by 2020. The plan emphasizes teacher training and quality, accountability, safety and an agreed-upon set of standards that emphasizes techniques that have been shown to be the most effective in engaging children to learn.

"We've heard a great deal of talk out of this governor and her surrogates, but seen zero action. We must put schools and education back on the front burner, stop the complaining, and make our schools work for students and their families."

- adapted from TG for Gov