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PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Legislature dug into a third day of work on a budget deal negotiated between Republican House and Senate leaders and Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday without a clear agreement with GOP members in the House who are pushing for more spending on K-12 education.
But with a large number of majority Republicans in the House vowing they will not vote for a budget that fails to address several school-funding issues, the governor's office committed itself fully to their cause.
"We're working toward a final product with the goal in mind of not a single-dollar reduction in K-12 spending in this year's budget," Ducey Chief of Staff Kirk Adams said in an interview.
That direct comment on the negotiations marked a clear commitment to fixing what Republican education backers are balking about in the budget. The House members' concerns revolve around three issues — extra cash for smaller schools, a delay in cutting funds to district-sponsored charter schools and keeping funding stable for schools with declining enrollment. Also in the mix is an obscure formula on how unused space is counted for funding purposes.
Those issues were triggered by policy decisions enacted by lawmakers in recent years.
Fixing those issues will cost about $50 million in additional spending, and getting to that point without irking fiscal conservatives who want to avoid too much new spending is the sticking spot. Where the money will come from in the planned budget remains unclear.
The House Appropriations Committee had set hearings for Thursday afternoon on the $9.58 billion budget package, but as of 7 p.m. they had yet to materialize.
House leaders had set debate on the bills for later in the day, but then sent lawmakers not on the committee home.
Just after 6 p.m., Ducey tweeted that "We're very close. It's my commitment that this budget results in more $ for K-12, above Prop123, not less. Let's work together & get it done."
Speaker David Gowan asked members if they're available through the weekend, signaling that an agreement is far from a sure thing.
But Gowan said Thursday that he's working hard to get a deal in place. "It's fluid, and we're doing our best to get a deal done with the members so we can go forward and get a budget done," he said.
Democratic leaders in the House point out that per-pupil spending under the budget agreement will go down under the current budget deal. They say it's about $21 million less overall than last year's spending. And they note that with a big state surplus for the first time in years now is the time to restore cuts made in recent years.
"If not now, when?" Minority Leader Eric Meyer said. "We need to be taking that second step while we have the opportunity."
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