TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Arizona State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne delivered his annual State of Education speech Tuesday. He will also deliver the speech to the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.
“We have an incredible emergency right now. We have to turn this around for teachers," Horne said.
Horne started the speech off by saying we avoided a 'nightmare' after a man brought a gun and knife into the Legacy Traditional School of East Tucson last week.
Horne addresses safety issues, stating “those who have been opposing police in the schools need to rethink this issue.”
Another big topic was teacher pay and teacher retention.
“The teacher situation is desperate. We absolutely have to raise our teacher salaries," Horne said. He said renewing Prop 123 would help do this. Prop 123 is currently set to expire in July. Governor Katie Hobbs supports renewing it.
John Pedicone is an educational consultant for the Southern Arizona Leadership Council. He worked in Flowing Wells as an administrator and superintendent for a few years and was Superintendent of Tucson Unified School District for nearly three years until 2013.
In Horne's speech Tuesday, Pedicone explained how he hopes Horne "talks about the importance of encouraging the legislature to fund teachers at a level where we can not only attract them but retain them.”
Pedicone explains that being able to retain teachers for longer would be crucial for both teachers and students.
“As a superintendent for those many years in those two districts I always felt I was a support staff like any other support staff person," Pedicone explained, "I had to lead but I had to support what went on in that classroom.”
Classroom culture is crucial to Pedicone because he believes students will perform better and teachers will teach better in a respectful, healthy learning environment.
A study in 2024 found that Arizona is one of the worst states for public education.
Discipline was another topic Horne brought up, saying "We’ve got to have discipline in our classrooms. We’ve got to have consequences for misbehavior if we’re gonna have academic progress in our classrooms.”
Horne also explained, "There were efforts to pass a bill that would give administrators incentives to support teachers on issues of discipline, but they did not succeed last year."
“I hope that he {Horne} becomes a champion for traditional public schools in the same way that he’s a champion for the idea of vouchers and ESA’s. If he can do that, I think it will be the thing that helps our teachers feel respected and not disrespected," Pedicone explained.
Parents in Arizona can apply for the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA).
The website describes its purpose: the money that would pay for that student’s education in a neighborhood school follows that student to whichever school the parents choose for their child, including education at home.
"You get a chance to make a difference in the lives of children. That's the gift of the profession," Pedicone said.
He also works with Tucson Values Teachers, an organization that aims to raise awareness of Arizona’s teacher workforce crisis.
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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from the Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.
