Eric Shelley
What is your education and relevant experience for this office?
I hold a B.A. in Psychology from Arizona State University (1995) and an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix (2002)
If you have children, do you/did you send them to public school? If so, did they graduate from a public school?
I have no children at this time.
Do you feel you are an advocate for public education in Arizona? Use specific examples of what you will do or have done to demonstrate your level of support for public education in Arizona.
Although I have no children, and although it has been several years since I was in the role of “student”, one thing is clear – public education is an investment that pays off multiple times over, and should be something which public policy makers vigorously defend. Investment in public education provides high return through: 1.) Higher salaries for workers – educated workers are equipped with the skills needed for the high-paying jobs of the future. As a result, they earn more, spend more, yield greater sales tax revenue, and can even help bolster sagging sectors of our economy such as our real estate market. 2.) Lower crime – most educators understand the cruel inverse relationship between high-school graduation rates and incarceration rates. In fact, corrections departments can use graduation rates as a key indicator of future inmate populations. So the question a legislature needs to ask is, “Do we want to fund education when children are in school, or do we want to pay for their incarceration later in life?” 3.) Benefits to society – as I have told voters when I’ve visited their doors, we all have a vested interest in strong public education. If the child of my neighbor grows up with a great education and discovers some keen insight to the origins of the universe, develops the cure for a dread disease, or even simply engineers the next “must have” gadget, we all benefit, not just an individual family paying for a child’s individual instruction. Cutting resources for public education robs us all of our society’s potential.
Will you work to protect public education from any further budget cuts?
Absolutely. And for the reasons stated in question #5. There are many opportunities to improving education, including some that hinge on funding and some that are more systemic and institutional. However as I have heard it metaphorically described, “You can’t fix the car if there’s no gas in the tank.” We need to ensure that Arizona schools have the resources they need to teach our students to the highest level they can.
The system for funding public education in Arizona is a maze of laws, rules, regulations, funding sources, etc. Please share specifics on how you would simplify how we fund our public schools here in Arizona to make that funding source more efficient, effective and reliable?
I support balancing the ratios of funding sources from which our state collects revenue, with a better balance of corporate, property, income and sales tax streams. A more balanced blend of taxation streams can help make critical pieces of funding, such as education, more resistant to temporary downturns in economic activity.
Should the education formula be based on seat time and average daily membership or on student academic progress and successful achievement of academic standards?
Insofar as improved performance can be rewarded with additional funding, I support providing incentives for teachers and administrators to innovate their way to better education practices.
Knowing that money does not cure all, how do you feel that Arizona ranks dead last in per pupil funding? Are you happy with the status quo or how will you work to change that? Can you share your plan on how Arizona can improve it's school funding to at least a competitive level? Be specific.
Education funding has been a sad legacy for our recent legislatures. I favor a two-pronged approach to improving school funding. First, as state education is so heavily dependent upon sales tax revenue, I will pursue a substantial jobs package, with emphasis on high-tech industries such as solar energy and biotechnology. Arizona is ripe for developing these sectors and, if done properly, can yield substantially increased revenues from the revitalized economic activity these new jobs will bring. Second, as stated in question #7, I also support a more balanced approach to how the state brings in revenues.
Do you think that class-size affects academic performance? How and at what size?
To help me understand more of the complexities of the challenges schools face, I have reviewed a number of studies on class size. I was surprised to see how contradictory many of the studies were. While some studies stated that smaller class sizes improve performance, others argued that there was no correlation (or causal relation) between class size and performance. However a 2005 study from Cornell University caught my eye. It concluded that student performance shows substantial declines with increases in class size up to approximately 20 students. However after 20 students, the incremental changes lessen and plateau. Although some may read this as an argument that there is little risk in increasing class sizes from, for example, 25 to 30, I view it as an opportunity to improve student performance and graduation rates by keeping classes under 20 students wherever possible.
How do you feel about the unfunded mandate of the AIMS test (or a similar test) when teachers spend a large portion of their school year "teaching to the test"? Be specific.
I have spoken with many educators, even prior to my interest in a role in state government. Virtually all of them lamented the use of AIMS as the key driver of their curriculum. And unfortunately once out of school there is no career of “AIMS Taker” in our current job market. We need to remember that the jobs of tomorrow will require critical analysis skills, creative thinking, and the ability to apply the latest scientific, mathematical, and language disciplines. Not all of these are readily quantifiable in a single test.
Do you believe that the voters approving Prop 301 intended the 2% inflation factor to be applied to the entire M&O budget or just legislatively selected portions of the operating budget?
As the ballot read, “A ‘yes’ vote has the effect of approving an increase in the state transaction privilege (sales) tax and the state use tax of six-tenths of one per cent to raise revenues in support of education, a state income tax credit in mitigation of those tax increases, inflation adjustments in state aid for education, a termination of an exemption from education funding revenue control limits for excess utility costs and a limitation on the school district qualifying tax rates and the county equalization assistance for education rate,” voters were not led to believe that inflation factors were to be parsed or dissected to specific line items. Voters were told that the tax was for “inflation adjustments in state aid for education”. From my perspective, districts’ M&O budgets would appear to be a component of “education”.
How do you plan to support districts with textbook adoptions with the decrease/limits on soft capital funding? Do you understand that many districts such as CCUSD operate with textbooks that are ten years old?
My long-term view of education includes a transition away from physical textbooks and increased usage of e-learning tools including e-books and web-based curricula. Many higher-education institutions and workplaces are transitioning quickly away from hard-copy materials, both as a way to ensure learners receive the most up-to-date information as well as a substantial decrease in long-term capital requirements.
The budget cuts have eliminated the funding for the Gifted Students Educational Program. With the passing of Prop 100 what legislative measures will you take to restore this funding to meet the many critical needs for our brightest minds and high acheivers in AZ?
As a young student in the Mesa Public School system in the 1970s and 1980s, I was a part of the program for gifted students (then known as “ELP”). This was a critical component of my own education, and I would be a staunch advocate of its restoration. We need to provide our brightest students with the greatest challenges. I would also advocate partnerships with higher-education institutions and even industries that could provide our high-potential students with opportunities to gain valuable experience in fields they may wish to pursue as adults.
Where and what grade level classrooms have you observed in the last 12 months? What specifics can you share about class size and per pupil expenditure in those classrooms?
My own understanding of challenges faced by our schools comes from teachers and administrators with whom I’ve spoken in recent months. They all agree that Arizona’s school funding has been slashed by the leaders of the Republican-led legislature, and the detrimental effect on per-student funding is tangible. While there are many solutions that districts can implement to improve teacher performance and student achievement, they are substantially hampered when leveraged in overburdened classrooms. As a legislator from LD 7 I will argue that we can improve our schools by providing the support our teachers need to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
Due to our district's low poverty, or "free and reduced lunch" level, do you understand the disparity that places CCUSD at a disadvantage for federal and grant application-based funding, and would you be willing to support legislation that would allow districts such as CCUSD in low-poverty areas to secure supplemental funding to reach curriculum or achievement standards that may be desired by the governing board? If so, what might those funding sources be? (please cite examples such as local prop tax, program fees, etc.)
This is a great example of how a “one size fits all” approach to school district funding and administration fails to serve all the districts in Arizona. We need a legislature that understands the unique needs of distinct communities in our state and provides flexibility for districts to custom-fit solutions to their particular circumstances. In this example it would be appropriate for districts to seek local solutions to meet their needs. However any supplemental funding for district-wide costs should be referred to voters.
Do you support performance pay programs like Career Ladders and Prop 301 for teachers?
I do. I support helping teachers improve throughout their career by leveraging continuing education programs. And teachers that perform better, as measured by year-over-year as well as longer-term measures of teacher performance, should be rewarded for doing so.
In constructing new schools, do you believe that bonding or direct general fund support is the most efficient and cost effective?
? I support bond measures that allow the costs for school funding to be shared equally among the community over a period of years, just as the benefits are reaped equally.
Would you support a requirement that all new education policy initiatives proposed by the legislature contain a fiscal note and be required to include all necessary funding prior to adoption?
I would. After the budget debacles of recent years, Arizona demands greater fiscal responsibility from its legislators. Adopting a “paygo” approach to our budget process will help ensure greater financial stability for our state, which will help ensure that funds dedicated to education in fact go towards education.
Do you think the Constitutional requirement to fund a general and uniform public education system should take precedence over programs supporting private schools?
Yes. Not only do Constitutional requirements supersede legislative programs for special interests, as I stated in question #5, Arizona has a substantial stake in educating all of its citizens. The benefits of doing so are extensive, and the costs for failing to do so are exceedingly steep.
Please describe your level of support for school vouchers and private school tax credits, how should they be used (if at all), to whom should they be given/used for, and how would you change the current system in place? Be specific.
I don’t support the use of school vouchers and private school tax credits. Our education system should work to improve all schools so that every student, regardless of neighborhood or socioeconomic status has an opportunity at a first-rate education. If parents have the means and seek to educate their children in private institutions, they should certainly have the freedom to do so. However such decisions should not come at a cost to the rest of the community. Challenged schools should be bolstered and improved, not abandoned.
Do you feel that the use of Vouchers and private school tax credits is appropriate considering the struggle that our public education system has recently faced and continues to face? Be specific.
Given that our current legislature has already cut more than a billion dollars from public education, I don’t see the transfer of additional education dollars to private entities solving our fiscal challenges.