Khalsa PTO

The Governor called a special session and it is likely this budget proposal could pass this week. So if you want to contact your legislator, you should do it NOW.

Contact Information:

• To find the contact information for your legislator, go to: http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp
• To find contact information for Governor Brewer, go to: http://www.azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp

Talking/Bullet Points (updated March 8, 2010):

You can use the following “talking points” or “bullets” in a letter, email or phone call to the Governor or your legislators

• Governor Brewer released a budget proposal on January 15 that proposes to cut $10 million from the Charter School budget and eliminate funding for full-day Kindergarten (a $218 million cut) for State Fiscal Year 2011 (July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011)
  • http://www.azgovernor.gov/Budget2011.asp
  • See slide 42 of the “media presentation”

• Governor Brewer and the state Legislature will be meeting this week (starting March 8) to pass a state budget proposal – a budget cut to charter schools and full-day Kindergarten are part of the proposed budget being considered

• My child(ren) attend Khalsa Montessori Charter School and these funding cuts would be devastating to our school:
  • Parents of Kindergarten students will have to pay $400 per month in tuition, limiting the ability of some families to send their children to our school; many parents already pay additional tuition for after-school care
  • The $10 million cut in Charter School funding will also impact our school and could result in larger class sizes, less teachers and less funding for important school programs
  • These cuts will come on top of the reduction in Prop 301 teacher funding that our school will have to absorb due to the lower sales tax revenues that fund Prop 301

• Our family chose to send our children to the Khalsa Montessori Charter School because they provide us with a public school setting that meets our family’s needs, specifically, we support Khalsa because (see examples below and elaborate):
  • Academic excellence – Khalsa has outstanding test scores and reputation
  • Unique curriculum that reinforces our family’s values
  • Class size and teacher quality
  • Diversity and multi-culturalism of families that attend
  • Strong community involvement
  • It offers an alternative to a more traditional school setting

• It is important that high-quality charter schools like Khalsa be allowed to have the funds needed to continue to serve families like mine

• Research shows that full-day Kindergarten provides children with the tools needed to obtain stronger academic success long-term

• Failure to fund full-day Kindergarten will mean families will have to find less expensive (and less quality) child-care settings or will have to pay more in tuition at a time when many families are struggling economically

• When considering the budget proposal, please oppose cuts to charter school funding, full-day Kindergarten funding and public school funding in general
• Parent supporters of Khalsa Montessori Charter School actively raise funds and donate money to help support our school; we don’t expect the state to pay for “extras” but we do expect the state to provide our basic funding support

• Arizona’s charter and public schools already receive far less funding than schools in other states and, despite this, public education in Arizona has seen record budget cuts in the past year
  • Between the new cuts proposed and failure to backfill federal stimulus funding that will run out at the end of this year, hundreds of millions of dollars in more cuts to schools are proposed for 2011

• I understand that there is a budget deficit and it is important to get our state back on firm financial footing.  But there are other ways to solve the current budget deficit crisis than balancing it on the backs of schools and children with cuts to public charter and traditional school funding

• An investment in education is needed in good times and in bad – it is important to keep our public charter schools strong and able to educate our children for the jobs of tomorrow

Helpful Hints:

• Act quickly – the budget could be passed and these cuts made final as early as this week

• Keep your letter, email or conversation short and to the point; be polite, thank them for their time

• Only contact the Governor and the Legislators (1 Senator and 2 House members) that represent you personally in the geographic area you live (see below for how to contact your legislators)

• Use the bullet points above but personalize your letter/email so that it doesn’t sound like a “form” letter

• Focus your comments on how this budget proposal would impact you and your family

• Republicans and Democrats have different perspectives on support for charter schools and public education funding. Focus on support for continued “school choice” with Republicans; focus on cuts to charter schools and full-day Kindergarten as part of a “public” education system that is underfunded with Democrats

Follow the news and, if this issue isn’t resolved quickly or to your satisfaction, contact the Governor and your legislators again, even if you are essentially repeating yourself