Gov. Doug Ducey mum on timing of education funding plan

Gov. Doug Ducey won’t say whether he plans to put his plan to boost K-12 education spending before voters sooner than November 2016, even as chatter among insiders indicates he may be eying an earlier date.

The governor deflected questions Monday about whether he’d call for a special session or ask lawmakers to refer the proposal to the ballot earlier than the presidential election.

Some lawmakers are urging him to do it earlier so school districts have a better idea on how to budget for next school year.

Ducey’s plan to ask voters to infuse more than $2 billion into K-12 education over the next decade has been met with optimism and criticism. Before his plan could go to voters, the Legislature needs to pass a resolution to put it on the a ballot.

The Legislature could call a special session and refer the issue to a regularly scheduled election or a special election. The Legislature could also take the issue up when it convenes in January.

GOP Speaker Andy Biggs did not immediately return a call for comment. House Republican spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said she was unaware of conversations about the timing for putting Ducey’s plan before voters.

The governor’s proposal requires no tax increase but instead hinges on public support for increasing funding from the state-land trust’s permanent fund from 2.5 percent to 10 percent each year for the next five years. It would then drop to 5 percent and expire at the end of 2026.

House Minority Leader Eric Meyer said, “I don’t even know if the governor has the votes. As more time goes on and people realize this is just sort of short term, it’s not even a permanent fix. I don’t know what their thoughts are on that until I talk to them.”

Republican Rep. J.D Mesnard said he has expressed to Ducey’s office his hopes to have voters weigh in earlier than November 2016.

“I’d love to have these dollars getting to the classrooms sooner,” Mesnard said, adding he wants “some awareness” of how the lingering K-12 inflation-funding lawsuit is going to be resolved to help inform his support of the governor’s plan.

The Republican-led Legislature is fighting a court order that requires it to pay the public schools an additional $320 million a year to make up for unpaid inflation during the Great Recession.

Ducey, who is not a party to the lawsuit, refused to say if he’d like to see his plan referred to a ballot earlier than November 2016, saying, “The strategy is something I’m going to have to work with others on.

“We are working with legislative leadership so that we can bring forward a plan that is successful — this is a big idea, it’s a heavy lift, it’s a dramatic amount, so we want to make certain it’s successful.”

Ducey would not answer whether he’s considering calling a special session to take the issue to the ballot.

“You know, I don’t want to say anything more except the amount of money that we want to bring, where the money’s going to come from and it’s not going to be a tax increase,” Ducey said, following an event at Carl Hayden Community High School. “And then I want to work with the other people to make this happen.”

GOP Rep. Warren Petersen said he’d like to see Ducey’s plan referred to the ballot “quickly’ and questioned whether the governor had the votes necessary to refer his proposal to the ballot.

“Can we get 90 people, the majority that we need and the Governor’s Office all together on the same page, especially with all the criticism that’s come out,” Petersen asked. “There’s some work that needs to be done. I personally would like to see it done by July 1, 2016 for budgeting purposes.”

Petersen added, “I think there’s quite a bit of support to get it done before July 1, 2016.”

Follow the reporter on Twitter: @yvonnewingett.