opinion

ASU trustees take aim at Ducey, Legislature

ASU's Board of Trustees put out a hit on Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature on Wednesday, saying the state budget for higher education "sends a message to our state and to our country that educated citizens and the long-term health of our economy are not priorities for the state of Arizona."

That's going to leave a mark.

For the second time in less than a month, university leaders are talking about the Arizona Constitution.

Specifically, the part that says a college education must be "as nearly free as possible" and that other part – the section that rarely gets mentioned.

It goes like this: "The Legislature shall make such appropriations, to be met by taxation, as shall insure the proper maintenance of all state educational institutions, and shall make such special appropriations as shall provide for their development and improvement."

Attention: Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature. Note the word: "shall."

Not may.

Not, if we're flush with cash.

Not even, if we feel like it.

Shall.

Wednesday's message from the Tustees comes via a full-page ad in the Arizona Republic.

It falls far short of Board of Regents Chairman Mark Killian's comments to me last month, wherein he flat out said someone should sue Ducey and the Legislature and said he planned to ask the Regents' attorney whether the board has standing.

"I'm to the point now where I believe we are in clear violation of the Arizona Constitution and that needs to be addressed," he said, at the time. "You can't change the Arizona Constitution and its clear meaning by continuing to just cut universities through the appropriations process."

The signed ad from ASU's 30 trustees -- which includes a number of prominent business leaders in the state -- should be horrifying to a governor who sees himself as the Recuiter in Chief for economic development -- not to mention a guy who claims to support education,

The trustees' ad notes that higher education has been cut 48 percent per student since 2008. And that's before the coming year's additional $99 million (or 13 percent) cut. As a result: tuition has risen 10 percent a year on average and graduates of Arizona's universities are leaving school with an average of $22,000 in debt, the ad notes.

"We must respond with a clear message of disapproval short term," the trustees wrote, "but long term we need to change the conversation with our fellow citizens and attract people to public office who favor investment in education at all levels."

Direct hit, there.

Clearly, we do need to change the conversation about the importance of public education -- both to our kids and to our economy. Unfortunately, our leaders thus far don't seem inclined to listen.

So the question is, will anyone sue the state to compel our leaders who clearly don't favor investment in education to follow the Arizona Constitution?

--

In case you're wondering, here's a list of ASU Trustees who signed the ad:

Martin Alvarez Sr., Jim Armstrong, Bob Boschee, Don Budinger, Wil Cardon, Wayne Doran, Florence Eckstein, Jeff Ehret, Ira Fulton, Michael Glimcher, Laurie Goldstein, John Graham, Bob Johnson, David Lincoln, Sharon Dupont McCord, Chuck Michaels, Craig Newman, Bill Post, Laura Roskind, Martin Shultz, Trish Stark, Brian Swette, Gary Tooker, Gregg Tryhus, Greg Vogel, Howard Waldie IV, Cindy Watts, Craig Weatherup, Patty Withycombe, Bob Zollars



