Opinion

"As the FY2025 Chairwoman, I am energized and excited by the numerous groundbreaking and ribbon cutting events planned during the next 12 months. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport is the envy of airports across the country, and I am confident that the best is yet to come."

As a board member, I get calls regularly with these concerns from teachers and advise them to go to the administration and keep me included in all communications. I have also recommended they speak to the board at the board meeting. Every single one said they could not without fearing the repercussions.

Proposition 479 will fund the next generation of transportation projects, including the permanent expansion of the State Route 24. These improvements will have a generational impact enhancing connectivity, reducing traffic congestion, and furthering public safety by ensuring first responders can get to us as quickly as possible.

I could support an override if we had a plan to focus these funds on addressing our deficiencies. Until then, supporting the status quo of accepting low assessment scores, I could not, in all good conscience, go to the voters to ask for their support. We owe this to all of our students and the taxpayers, ensuring we are graduating students prepared for success.

As budget negotiations begin, we urge legislators to fight to retain this funding and find other opportunities to reduce spending which does not result in adverse impacts to regional transportation and economic development opportunities.  

Pinal County claimed it could subdivide the tax in this way because the law lets counties set a “variable rate” in a tax, and that it was simply setting the “rate” of some sales at zero. But the state Supreme Court today rejected that argument.

Senators Kelly and Sinema should help keep Arizona’s economy and communities like ours strong by opposing policies that would boost union power at the expense of local businesses and workers alike.

One only needs to read about Shannon’s Law and what happens to innocent citizens when bullets are fired and don’t hit a specific target.

“In good conscience, I don’t see how I can ask our athletes to compete there when Peng Shuai is not allowed to communicate freely and has seemingly been pressured to contradict her allegation of sexual assault. Given the current state of affairs, I am also greatly concerned about the risks that all of our players and staff could face if we were to hold events in China in 2022.”