Proposition 320 states school districts must spend on instructional expenses

Proposition 320 will require some school districts to spend at least 60% of their budget on direct instructional expenses if it passes this November.

However, Proposition 320 does not define what these direct instructional expenses are. Instead it states the Auditor General would define direct instructional expenses for the requirement.

Schools with more than 7,500 students, or in counties with a population greater than 500,000, would be subject to this requirement.

To discuss why they support and do not support Proposition 320, we were joined by Matt Beienburg, Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute, and Jimmy Arwood, Director of Governmental Relations for the Arizona School Boards Association.

Arwood opposes Proposition 320 because it “punishes schools for providing kids the resources that they need.”

“When you drop your kid off at campus for the day at school and they walk through the doors of the campus, you expect as a parent that the security there is going to be good, that the school resource officer there is keeping them safe. That is not included in direct instruction,” Arwood said.

Beienburg supports the proposition because it forces schools to use the funding for direct classroom expenses.

“It’s a straightforward measure saying we are prioritizing student funding with dollars in the classroom,” Beienburg said. “Increase your spend on the ground instruction by half a percent, prioritize what is actually going to the classroom, and no diverting elsewhere.”

Beienburg said he also hopes this could increase teacher pay in a state where there is a teacher shortage.

However, Arwood said he believes there are other ways to increase teacher pay without reducing other resources at the schools.