Dear Friends,

This year, Arizona is faced with an unprecedented opportunity:  a nearly $1 billion budget surplus.  Because of smart fiscal policies in recent years and a vibrant economy, our state's revenue is up, and we need to decide how we should spend this money.

I have proposed that we spend it by investing in Arizona's future.  There's no better way to do that than by investing in our children.  Our children are our most valuable resource.  They deserve every opportunity possible to succeed and a world-class, quality education is vital to our children's success.

Good education starts out strong and stays that way.  The benefits of a strong early education are numerous.  Children exposed to good education at the age of five or six read better, and strong readers continue to perform well in every subject throughout their schooling.   

Two years ago, we started implementing voluntary all day kindergarten in our schools, and parents loved it.  It gives families the option to choose whether their children attend kindergarten full-time or part-time, and provides children with more opportunity to learn.  This year, I want to expand all day kindergarten, and make it available to every parent that wants it.

In order to truly succeed, our children need quality teachers.  By paying our teachers a good wage, one that reflects the level of trust we place in them, Arizona will attract and keep better educators.  In my budget, I proposed a two- part plan to bring teacher salaries to a realistic level. 

First I want us to give every teacher in the State of Arizona a raise.  Teachers make less than most professionals with a college degree. In fact, Arizona's teachers' average salaries are about what other college graduates make fresh out of school. Secondly, I want to establish a minimum starting for every teacher in Arizona to $30,000. Low starting pay deters teachers from taking assignments in needy districts and sends them to other states to teach. Only a handful of states still pay starting teachers below $30,000 and so new teachers have many opportunities outside of Arizona.  Taken together these two proposals can help us keep the teachers we have and hopefully start to make teaching a viable economic option for today's workers.

Arizona's children and teachers are an important part of Arizona's future.  We must continue to invest in them and help keep Arizona, and its children's futures bright.  It's part of my plan to keep Arizona safe, strong, and prosperous.  

As always, I appreciate your input, and encourage you to call my office at 602.542.1318 if you have questions or thoughts to share. Or, please visit our website at http://www.azgovernor.gov for information and news in state government.

Yours very truly,


Janet Napolitano
Governor


Please encourage your friends and family to sign up for my Message of the Week at http://www.azgovernor.gov