Horne: More money in the classroom improves student performance

For Immediate Release: March 28, 2023

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Horne: More money in the classroom improves student performance

Calls on bi-partisan support for better teacher pay

PHOENIX – State superintendent of schools Tom Horne today released a Department of Education study that demonstrates statistically that school districts that put a higher percentage of their budget into the classroom, primarily teacher salaries, do much better academically, compared to districts that have a higher percentage of their budget in other categories.

“We are going to undertake a major campaign to persuade districts to put a higher percentage of their budget in the classroom,” Horne said. “The data shows clearly that this has a positive academic benefit. “

The data is presented on graphs that represent large or very large districts and includes 74 percent of all students.

Going to the right on these graphs, shows districts that spend a higher percentage of their budget on the classroom. Going up the graph and shows passing scores. And the line switch shows the averages move dramatically up as one moves to the right, showing a very strong relationship between money spent in the classroom and good academic performance.

Horne has urged the legislature to pass Representative Matt Gress’s bill to use part of the budget surplus to give every teacher a $10,000 raise.

“No school can be better than the quality of the teachers in the classroom,” Horne stated. “The surrounding states pay more, and we lose good teachers to those states. We cannot afford to let this go on. “

Horne expressed profound shock that a number of Democrats in the legislature, and the leadership of the teacher’s union, opposed the bill to give every teacher a $10,000 raise. 

“If the public knew that a number of Democrats in the legislature, plus the leadership of the teacher’s union, opposed a $10,000 raise for teachers simply because the proposal came from a Republican, they would also be profoundly shocked. We should not let partisanship interfere with the steps we need to take to increase the academic performance of Arizona students, which is my sole overriding goal. “

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