A Sad Day in Arizona

It's still not too late to call the Governor's office and tell her what you think: 1-800-253-0883

Come time to vote, don't forget who ruined education in Arizona.

In the Tucson Citizen:
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/108964.php

"Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, the secretary of state who became governor when Napolitano resigned Jan. 17, did not release any budget-balancing suggestions of her own. She called the Legislature into special session Wednesday night after Republican legislative leaders assured her they had worked out a plan and had enough votes to approve it.
Saying Arizona likely will net well over $500 million once Congress settles on a stimulus package, legislative Democrats argued that the Republican-led Legislature was moving prematurely to adopt painful budget cuts.
"Republicans have declared war on our education system for no reason," said Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat who cited a U.S. House vote approving that chamber's version of the stimulus package."

From the AZ Star:
http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/278124.php
"Universities
The UA is likely to cut 600 positions in an effort to shave $57 million off its $418 million budget this year, said university spokesman Paul Alvin. At least 200 of those positions will be layoffs. The other 400 may be cut through attrition and elimination of vacant positions.
All units across campus will experience a 5 percent budget cut, Alvin said. He repeated what university presidents said earlier: Students will see fewer courses, making it harder to graduate on time.
The university is not yet considering requiring employees to take unpaid time off, he said, because that is not a deep enough cut.
The three university presidents had recommended a total $100 million cut for the trio of universities. Alvin said with the number rising above that, the consequences would be greater than UA President Robert Shelton had anticipated.
"The president's numbers stretched the rubber band as far as we could stretch it," he said. "This goes beyond that."

A criticism of the cuts: http://www.azstarnet.com/opinion/278025.php