To understand Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, it is helpful to know about her background and her agenda. Amazingly, it does not directly flow from her boss, Donald J. Trump. She's wealthy.  Her life has been one of wealth through her own family and the one she married into.  Her father was a billionaire; her husband is a billionaire (her husband's father started Amway). Fun fact: her brother is Erik Prince of Blackwater notoriety; that's the private security contracting firm accused of both overbilling and human rights abuses during the Iraq War. She's religious. Key to understanding DeVos' thinking [...]

Back in 2008-2009, Arizona was slammed by the impact of our national recession. Leaders had to determine the best and most efficient ways of balancing our state budget. Our governor, Doug Ducey, decided to put this massive load on the backs of our children and teachers. Public education – both K-12 and higher education – were the victims he selected to take the brunt of the hit. We have still not recovered. Personally, I was affected by this devastating evisceration of public education. In 2009 I was a special education teacher in the Cave Creek school district. I had just [...]

The devastating economic crash due to the coronavirus pandemic has created huge budget shortfalls in every state.  Estimates show revenue allocated to education will drop from 15% to 30% next year.  For comparison, during the Great Recession (2010), education revenue only decreased by 8.6%.  A 20% reduction will cause the loss of 6,500 teaching jobs in Arizona in 2021.  A 30% reduction will mean over 10,000 lost teaching positions! At the same time that revenues are falling, schools have new COVID-related expenses, for example: disinfection supplies and personnel, free meals for more students, digital devices and internet connections for remote [...]