*Editor’s Note: The “Views from NAU” blog series highlights the thoughts of different people affiliated with NAU, including faculty members sharing opinions or research in their areas of expertise. The views expressed reflect the authors’ own personal perspectives.
By Rima Brusi
By Rima BrusiProfessor, Honors College
Dr. Brusi is an anthropology professor in the Honors College and a writer, researcher and advocate specializing in the study and improvement of policy and practice in public K-12 and higher education systems in the United States and the author of several books, including Fantasmas and Chulos de la pobreza y otras crónicas.
It’s election season. In an ideal world, we’d be having meaningful conversations about issues that impact our daily lives—what individuals, families and communities need to thrive. We’d debate policies in the best interest of the state and country. Sadly, political rhetoric often highlights our divisions and leads us to believe we are hopelessly at odds.
But Arizonans agree on key priorities more than we realize.
My area of expertise (and obsession) is access to quality K-12 education AND higher education. And as it turns out, I’m not alone: Since 1948, the United Nations has repeatedly affirmed that access to quality education, including higher education, is not a privilege but a human right. And data from the Center for the Future of Arizona shows a majority of Arizonans, regardless of party affiliation, believe in investing in schools, colleges and universities. More than 79% of voters agree that our public universities and community colleges are critical to the state’s future, and a majority support the idea that every school should have the resources to provide a quality education, no matter the students’ background or location.
And they’re right to think this way here and now. Arizona’s economy is growing, and so is the need for workers with post-secondary education. Jobs requiring higher education have increased in the past decade and will continue to rise. Those with post-secondary degrees not only earn more but also have better health outcomes and access to more opportunities. If Arizona’s universities and community colleges increased their postsecondary enrollment rate by 20%, the benefits—higher earnings, improved health, reduced crime and welfare costs and increased workforce productivity—would generate more than $5 billion in gains per cohort.
Yet, Arizona ranks 48th in K-12 public education funding, and only 41% of third graders are proficient in reading. Our math standards fare even worse, with only 27% of eighth-graders meeting them. Meanwhile, our high school graduation rate, hovering at 77%, is one of the lowest in the country. Our higher education funding is equally dire—Arizona ranks third lowest in the country in state investment, with a growing shortfall of 26,300 bachelor’s degrees per year over the next decade. Only 48% of Arizonans aged 25 to 64 have completed a college degree, certificate, or license. The statistics are even lower for Latinos, who represent about half of the state’s K-12 students and nearly a third of its total population, with only 31% holding a post-secondary degree or credential.
The disconnect between our shared values and political discourse and action is troubling. Just a few months ago, Arizona lawmakers passed significant budget cuts to funding for vital areas like water infrastructure, highways, and, yes, schools and universities. The dissonance is frustrating, but our common ground gives me hope.
As we head toward election day, let’s focus on something Arizonans truly want, really need and actually agree on: better-funded schools and universities.