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abiggs@azleg.gov, ocajerobedford@azleg.gov, clcampbell@azleg.

gov,
scourt@azleg.gov, rcrandall@azleg.gov, mheinz@azleg.gov, rjones@azleg.gov,
nmclain@azleg.gov, jkavanagh@azleg.gov, rmurphy@azleg.gov,
dschapira@azleg.gov, ksinema@azleg.gov, vwilliams@azleg.gov,
paboud@azleg.gov, aaguirre@azleg.gov, sallen@azleg.gov, pgorman@azleg.gov,
rgould@azleg.gov, ahale@azleg.gov, jharper@azleg.gov, amelvin@azleg.gov,
rpearce@azleg.gov, mailto:spierce@azleg.gov, rrios@azleg.gov

To the Members of the Arizona State Legislature Appropriations Committee:

I am writing to register my disgust at the excessive budget cuts to state


universities that have been proposed by some members of the Arizona State Legislature:
a reduction of $243 million for this year and another $388 million for fiscal year 2010.
Beyond this, public K-12 education is also being severely cut. This is highly
disappointing because Arizona is already 49th in the country in elementary and secondary
education funding and 35th for university funding.

I join all three of the state’s university presidents in saying that these proposed
cuts are outrageous and irresponsible. They would have an immediately devastating
effect on the quality of education in our state and would also gravely harm our economy.
While I acknowledge that the nation is suffering under a recession and that unlimited
funds are not available at this time, I want to stress that the public university system in
Arizona is a part of the solution, not the problem. Arizona, Arizona State, and Northern
Arizona University all stimulate our state’s economy and employ and educate thousands
of people. They also bring in millions of dollars in grants and innovate in the fields of
medicine, chemistry, pharmacy, engineering, and countless other areas. They train and
prepare thousands of students every year to compete in an increasingly tight job market.
As CEO Taylor Lawrence of Raytheon, Southern Arizona’s largest employer, explained at
the January 22nd’s Arizona Board of Regents meeting, “the key to innovation is
education.” This was not the only important business leader who stood up and spoke out
against the proposal to cut education in Arizona because of their potential to lay waste to
our local and state economy.

Despite the protests from business leaders, communities, professors, students,


local politicians and economic and legal scholars, the leaders of the Appropriations
Committee has not considered alternatives to dismantling public education. According to
the Arizona Daily Star newspaper, a one cent sales tax increase would generate $1billion.
No evidence has been provided to prove that a one cent tax would have any adverse
effect on the economy of our state. Quite to the contrary, the 2,000 immediate lay-offs
that would be necessary at the University of Arizona alone would certainly impact our
state’s already fragile economy. Foreclosures would certainly increase, more
unemployment would be collected from the state, and more parents would be forced to
apply for food stamps, welfare and public healthcare. Those who are able to leave and
seek employment elsewhere would certainly do so, causing our state to lose many of its
brightest and hardest workers. Additionally, as several business leaders explained to the
Board of Regents, the university’s ability to help them attract quality employees and
customers would be severely compromised.
The State of Arizona has a legal obligation to support higher education by making
it available and “as nearly free as possible.” Were the cuts to take place as proposed,
Pres. Shelton of the University of Arizona has said that quality of education would
immediately suffer and that tuition would as much as double. I believe that this would be
a violation of the promise made by our elected officials to protect the interests of the
people of this state.

I stand against the proposed cuts, and I implore you to do the same. It is not
appropriate to respond to economic crisis by dismantling some of the state’s largest
employers. Please do not let this legislature be remembered as the government that
destroyed public education.

Sincerely,

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