TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says the state's schools need more resources to help students catch up after a difficult year of remote learning.
Ducey told KGUN 9 in an interview that schools need to focus on students that have fallen behind during the pandemic with the potential for tutoring, after school classes and summer school.
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When asked whether he would support extending Arizona's school year into summer, the governor implied he would leave the decision up to local districts.
"We're going to provide additional dollars, so things like summer school, one-on-one instruction, tutoring, after-school classes, acceleration academies -- we've got a lot of great educators across the state, that's their matter of expertise," he said. "What they need to do that are resources. So what I'm going to do is work with the legislature so that they have those dollars that can follow the child and we can focus on the kids that have fallen behind and need to be caught up."
With Arizona's recently-passed ballot initiative that raises taxes on high-income earners, the search for that additional funding may already be finished. Proposition 208 raises the tax on income above $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for couples to be used specifically toward education and teacher salaries.
Ducey also called on Congress to act quickly and provide more discretionary federal funding for state governments, some of which could be used on education initiatives.
