Please exercise some restraint when it comes to the pejorative commentary masquerading as reporting:
1/ “One of the factors Governing Board member Marcie Hutchinson pointed to was the ballooning school voucher program that pulls hundreds of millions of dollars from public schools.” On the one hand, most ESA‘s are used to facilitate attendance at PUBLIC charter schools - and, instead of your relentless “top down” focus, it would be refreshing if you were to focus on outcomes at the student level (for example, how did Mesa students fare in the NAEP results? And what is MUSD doing to improve results, especially for less advantaged kids? And how do students in Mesa do in relative contexts - are the kids attending charters and other alternative schools doing better than those remaining in the traditional government run school district?) That’s all I care about.
2/ “Here’s your not-frequent-enough reminder that Arizona Republic columnist Phil Boas is the son-in-law of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.” Boaz is the best opinion columnist in the state (and frequently better than those commenting at the national level) - you should be so lucky - and it is a low blow to smear him by association (there is zero indication that he has ever defended Arpaio’s tactics - and, in this instance, he is right - most of us are offended that people are demonstrating while waving Mexican flags, it just reinforces our opinion that they should go to Mexico, if they think it is so great).
You’re confusing a few things. ESAs are completely separate from charter schools and are only used for private school and home school, but you’re right that charter schools serve many more students than ESAs. Most ESAs go to students that were not previously attending public schools and the state cost to fund existing private/home school students through the ESA program is about $300M per year.
Mesa represents about 4.5% of total public school enrollment in the state. If the $300M that is now funding previously privately-paid private school and home school students had instead been added to the state district/charter school funding formula, Mesa would have an additional $13.5M this year and would not be facing such severe cuts.
Charter and private schools can pick and choose their students which skews test scores. Public schools can not. The owners of Basis charter schools are some of the wealthiest in the country. Your tax payer dollars at work.
Again, when you start talking about how actual students are doing, in actual school settings, I will be listening. For example, BASIS schools consistently rank among the top schools in the entire country. And they do not (and are not permitted to) discriminate in their admissions - their student bodies “self select” and often endure long waiting lists to get in - and, having served on several college scholarship committees, many of the top performing students in the state, and in BASIS schools, come from low income/challenging backgrounds. Beyond that, there are several charters located in and specifically serving primarily “free lunch” students - for example, Vista Prep, now operating five schools where low-income kids are learning and thriving, as well as Great Hearts - and, again, they do not (and would not be permitted to) discriminate in admissions.
What does “self select” mean? If you’re on a “waiting list” it isn’t a public school. “My child is on a waiting list” la de da. That’s selective admission. District schools have to take every student that walks through the door. They aren’t the same. Agree to disagree.
You do understand that there are waiting lists in traditional public school districts, as well, right? A school can only accept as many students as it can accommodate - for example, when open enrollment was first permitted, Scottsdale and North Phoenix traditional government schools were oversubscribed (and may still be), resulting in waiting lists to get into particular schools. In fact, a waiting list is a great sign that a school is doing something right.
I watched the clip of the vote on HB 2578. Once again, we have a representative whose only complaint is I'm not sure this is the appropriate place (Wesley Bolin) for a memorial to Bolles. I wonder if she knows what memorials are there that she might object to or think are inappropriate. And the process to get one in there is so convoluted and difficult, that it is amazing that there are as many that exist today. Keeping my fingers crossed that this is the year!
Ducey's reduce regulatory regime has been a blessing for those of us who want to more closely monitor health metrics. I think it is great that I can walk into a clinic and get a Cholesterol -level test or GFR without a note from an MD and the $$ you have to pay for the visit.
Thank you for updating us on the short term rental bills. What happened to local control? Personally, I like Rep. Stephanie Simacek’ HCR2032. Let the voters decide not outside interests. The Don Bolles news is terrific. The last few weeks have been stressful. I double checked to make sure my SS payment was not taken back. Who knows what these nutballs are up to with our private information. News on USAID breaks my heart. All those starving, unvaccinated children. I understand that since JFK’s enactment of the program there has been purported mismanagement but I guess financially Elon’ 11 (or so) kids will be ok financially, emotionally probably not so much. Have a great day.
I’m glad someone still has “hope” for reigning in short term rentals (STRs). I’ve been working with other neighborhood stakeholders at the state & local level to return local control of STRs since Ducey signed Debbie Lesko’s, ALEC written, SB1350 in 2016. Along the way I have learned a few things:
1. This is a nonpartisan issue. The nuisance, disruption to daily life, and increased calls to police have affected AZ residents across the political spectrum. And we have heard from a large share of them.
2. For every 1% increase of STRs in a city, increases long-term rental rates by 2.3%.
3. They falsely inflate home values. An STR is often sold on the MLS as a business, with proforma, future bookings, and usually at a higher price per square foot. At close of escrow, that sale becomes a comparable to be used in appraisal reports for non-STR properties.
4. All STRs are required to pay Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT). There are an estimated 65,000-70,000 STRs in the state of AZ, yet according to ADORs most recent annual report, only about 5,500 STRs have TPT accounts.
5. All state & local taxes collected by any of the 100+ short-term rental sites now operating in AZ, are returned to AZ in a lump sum. With no addresses included, it is impossible to know the exact number in operation or which properties are collecting the correct amount of taxes.
6. STRs are not the cause of the housing crisis, but they definitely play a part. So why on earth would we (stakeholders /residents) support any bills that call for the rampant building of housing units, when state legislators won’t bother to ensure said housing units are built for residents NOT investors?
7. As a former STR host himself, Majority Leader, Warren Peterson has made it very clear that he will not advance any bills that further regulate or impede these businesses, effectively putting investors ahead of residents.
Please exercise some restraint when it comes to the pejorative commentary masquerading as reporting:
1/ “One of the factors Governing Board member Marcie Hutchinson pointed to was the ballooning school voucher program that pulls hundreds of millions of dollars from public schools.” On the one hand, most ESA‘s are used to facilitate attendance at PUBLIC charter schools - and, instead of your relentless “top down” focus, it would be refreshing if you were to focus on outcomes at the student level (for example, how did Mesa students fare in the NAEP results? And what is MUSD doing to improve results, especially for less advantaged kids? And how do students in Mesa do in relative contexts - are the kids attending charters and other alternative schools doing better than those remaining in the traditional government run school district?) That’s all I care about.
2/ “Here’s your not-frequent-enough reminder that Arizona Republic columnist Phil Boas is the son-in-law of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.” Boaz is the best opinion columnist in the state (and frequently better than those commenting at the national level) - you should be so lucky - and it is a low blow to smear him by association (there is zero indication that he has ever defended Arpaio’s tactics - and, in this instance, he is right - most of us are offended that people are demonstrating while waving Mexican flags, it just reinforces our opinion that they should go to Mexico, if they think it is so great).
You’re confusing a few things. ESAs are completely separate from charter schools and are only used for private school and home school, but you’re right that charter schools serve many more students than ESAs. Most ESAs go to students that were not previously attending public schools and the state cost to fund existing private/home school students through the ESA program is about $300M per year.
Mesa represents about 4.5% of total public school enrollment in the state. If the $300M that is now funding previously privately-paid private school and home school students had instead been added to the state district/charter school funding formula, Mesa would have an additional $13.5M this year and would not be facing such severe cuts.
Point well taken - you are right, there is a difference, charter schools get the same per-pupil operating allowance that traditional government schools receive (as opposed to ESA grants). But that does not change my overarching point - which is we should be focusing on student performance - and, IMO, school choice provides an opportunity to evaluate different approaches and see what works when it comes to educating students (including, while in increasing teacher pay would help, it is not all about money - students are learning in some schools, including those in low income areas, despite significant funding disparities favoring traditional government schools - including traditional government district schools have access to bond financing for capital improvements, repaid with property taxes - yet there is no positive correlation between those expenditures and student outcomes). Certainly, as the most recent NAEP data shows, we can hardly do worse. https://educationforwardarizona.org/progress/locations/. https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2025/01/30/arizona-4th-8th-grade-reading-scores-fall-2024-national-trend. https://x.com/matthewladner/status/1884948883576676459?s=43. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democratic-politicians-are-in-denial-on-the-education-crisis-ef57095b?st=HJMfYY&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Charter and private schools can pick and choose their students which skews test scores. Public schools can not. The owners of Basis charter schools are some of the wealthiest in the country. Your tax payer dollars at work.
Again, when you start talking about how actual students are doing, in actual school settings, I will be listening. For example, BASIS schools consistently rank among the top schools in the entire country. And they do not (and are not permitted to) discriminate in their admissions - their student bodies “self select” and often endure long waiting lists to get in - and, having served on several college scholarship committees, many of the top performing students in the state, and in BASIS schools, come from low income/challenging backgrounds. Beyond that, there are several charters located in and specifically serving primarily “free lunch” students - for example, Vista Prep, now operating five schools where low-income kids are learning and thriving, as well as Great Hearts - and, again, they do not (and would not be permitted to) discriminate in admissions.
What does “self select” mean? If you’re on a “waiting list” it isn’t a public school. “My child is on a waiting list” la de da. That’s selective admission. District schools have to take every student that walks through the door. They aren’t the same. Agree to disagree.
You do understand that there are waiting lists in traditional public school districts, as well, right? A school can only accept as many students as it can accommodate - for example, when open enrollment was first permitted, Scottsdale and North Phoenix traditional government schools were oversubscribed (and may still be), resulting in waiting lists to get into particular schools. In fact, a waiting list is a great sign that a school is doing something right.
Agree to disagree.
I watched the clip of the vote on HB 2578. Once again, we have a representative whose only complaint is I'm not sure this is the appropriate place (Wesley Bolin) for a memorial to Bolles. I wonder if she knows what memorials are there that she might object to or think are inappropriate. And the process to get one in there is so convoluted and difficult, that it is amazing that there are as many that exist today. Keeping my fingers crossed that this is the year!
Kolodin...you are wasting taxpayer money and your time. Join your buddy John Kavanaugh and do a brain search.
Exactly
Ducey's reduce regulatory regime has been a blessing for those of us who want to more closely monitor health metrics. I think it is great that I can walk into a clinic and get a Cholesterol -level test or GFR without a note from an MD and the $$ you have to pay for the visit.
All you have to do is call your doc and ask for the test. They’ll send an order. No appointment necessary.
Not in CA -my son tried and was required to go to an appointment.
Sorry, thought we were talking Arizona. Enjoy the beautiful day.
Thank you for updating us on the short term rental bills. What happened to local control? Personally, I like Rep. Stephanie Simacek’ HCR2032. Let the voters decide not outside interests. The Don Bolles news is terrific. The last few weeks have been stressful. I double checked to make sure my SS payment was not taken back. Who knows what these nutballs are up to with our private information. News on USAID breaks my heart. All those starving, unvaccinated children. I understand that since JFK’s enactment of the program there has been purported mismanagement but I guess financially Elon’ 11 (or so) kids will be ok financially, emotionally probably not so much. Have a great day.
…and of we are always “Laughing At” conservatives.
I’m glad someone still has “hope” for reigning in short term rentals (STRs). I’ve been working with other neighborhood stakeholders at the state & local level to return local control of STRs since Ducey signed Debbie Lesko’s, ALEC written, SB1350 in 2016. Along the way I have learned a few things:
1. This is a nonpartisan issue. The nuisance, disruption to daily life, and increased calls to police have affected AZ residents across the political spectrum. And we have heard from a large share of them.
2. For every 1% increase of STRs in a city, increases long-term rental rates by 2.3%.
3. They falsely inflate home values. An STR is often sold on the MLS as a business, with proforma, future bookings, and usually at a higher price per square foot. At close of escrow, that sale becomes a comparable to be used in appraisal reports for non-STR properties.
4. All STRs are required to pay Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT). There are an estimated 65,000-70,000 STRs in the state of AZ, yet according to ADORs most recent annual report, only about 5,500 STRs have TPT accounts.
5. All state & local taxes collected by any of the 100+ short-term rental sites now operating in AZ, are returned to AZ in a lump sum. With no addresses included, it is impossible to know the exact number in operation or which properties are collecting the correct amount of taxes.
6. STRs are not the cause of the housing crisis, but they definitely play a part. So why on earth would we (stakeholders /residents) support any bills that call for the rampant building of housing units, when state legislators won’t bother to ensure said housing units are built for residents NOT investors?
7. As a former STR host himself, Majority Leader, Warren Peterson has made it very clear that he will not advance any bills that further regulate or impede these businesses, effectively putting investors ahead of residents.