Video by Courtney Pedroza
Nearly 600 protesters — students, parents, teachers, administrators and more — rallied at the state Capitol Thursday afternoon against proposed state budget cuts to education.
About 30 Downtown campus students marched nearly two miles from Taylor Mall to the Capitol to show their opposition to the budget proposal. More ASU students drove to the rally, unable to march because they had midterms.
Student government members from both the Tempe and Downtown campuses wore maroon and gold clothing and waved signs at the rally, sat in on the committee meeting and organized to send emails to politicians. The ASU student protest was primarily coordinated by USGD Sen. Ryan Boyd and freshman student Jimmy Arwood.
“When it comes down to it, this is what you see when you have a closed-budget system,” Boyd said, referring to the closed-door process that shaped the budget.
Boyd said the student march should be a point of pride for the Downtown campus because it was a primarily Downtown-driven effort. Boyd said USGD President Frank Smith III could not attend because he had a three-hour class, but that Smith supported going to the Capitol.
Arwood, who is majoring in public policy, cited other ways to balance the budget, including the Republican-rejected increase of $6 or $7 in auto registration fees at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
“I respect the fact that [Ducey] had to balance a budget,” Arwood said, “but cutting as much as he did from education and our future is not good business.”
When Gov. Doug Ducey pitched his budget proposal in January, it included a $75 million cut to higher education, $40 million of which would be borne by ASU. The new budget agreement between Ducey and Republican legislators, released Wednesday night, increased the higher-education cut to $104 million.
The Arizona Republic and State Press editorial boards have both run op-eds against the budget proposal’s impact on college students. ASU President Michael Crow wrote an email to alumni criticizing the budget for making education “low priority” and disproportionately impacting ASU.
K–12 funding was also a hot topic at the rally. Although the latest budget increases K–12 spending, it does not include a court-ordered payment to fund teacher back pay. Last year, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper ordered the state pay $1.6 billion to teacher salaries over five years, starting with more than $300 million for this year’s budget, because past budgets failed to fully cover inflation-adjustment costs.
High-school student protesters disrupted the committee meeting by chanting “they say cut back, we say fight back,” and were escorted out of the state Capitol.
High school students begin chanting in capitol building. Currently being escorted out. pic.twitter.com/AKQURjQpDH
— Brandon Kutzler (@brandonkutzler) March 6, 2015
Sen. Katie Hobbs — Senate minority leader and Democrat representing District 24, which includes downtown Phoenix — said the budget process must become more transparent so that the Legislature and the public have more time to evaluate budget proposals.
“When the budget first came out, we all balked at the $75 million cut,” Hobbs said. “The board of regents and university presidents were saying they can handle that, but they can’t handle much more.”
Hobbs said increases to tuition and university fees are probable. Additionally, state universities may look more and more to out-of-state students to offset costs, a decision that Hobbs said will have a disproportionate effect on in-state students of lower economic status.
“We’re putting students in degree programs without a strong return on investment,” Hobbs said. “What are we setting up? Colleges are graduating students with massive, massive debts. We shouldn’t be proud of that.”
Contact the reporter at bkutzler@asu.edu
