Strife ahead as FY18 budget takes shape

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(AZ Capitol Times) A Republican budget plan set for its first vote today would give Arizona teachers a pay hike more than double what was proffered by Gov. Doug Ducey.

But Democrats want to double that again. And they may just have the leverage this year to get their way.

Ducey had sought a state-funded pay hike of just 0.4 percent this year for teachers, with a promise of similar increases for the following four years. That proved a non-starter, even for GOP leaders, who said that amount — about a dollar for each day in the school year, before taxes — was insufficient to deal with the teacher shortage.

Their plan is simpler: An immediate 1 percent pay hike, with an identical amount again next year.

But House Minority Leader Rebecca Rios said anything less than a 4 percent increase for teachers, who are among the lowest paid in the country, is unacceptable. She pegged the cost to do that at an additional $34 million.

Read More at AZ Capitol Times

Corrie O'Connor