Funding for K-12 Education Increases

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The state budget for this fiscal year, signed into law last month by Gov. Jan Brewer, includes increased funding for K-12 education.

Arizona increased school funding by 1.8 percent. Marana Unified School District’s Chief Financial Officer Dan Contorno said the boost helps struggling public school systems, such as his. He said the district is faced with declining enrollment.

"We’ve had an impact of building a budget that had 100 less students in it," Contorno said. "And, that could be attributed to multiple factors including foreclosures (and new) choices...some of them are moving to charter schools."

He said his school district needs to be on their game and "offer premiere educational opportunities" for students.

Contorno said the increase in funding added about $1 million to the district, putting it in a better financial situation for this school year.