PHOENIX (Chip Scutari, Arizona Republic)
May 24, 2005 -
A group of Republican legislators contend the state has failed to do enough
to help Spanish-speaking children learn basic English skills and that the
issue should be fixed in a special session this year.
The eight moderate Republicans wrote a letter to Gov. Janet Napolitano and legislative leaders urging them to tackle the problem before the state gets hauled back into federal court and risks losing $400 million in federal highway funding.
The letter was written after Napolitano vetoed a Republican-backed bill Friday that would have set aside $42 million to assist thousands of Spanish-speaking Arizona students deficient in English skills.
In her veto letter, Napolitano said the amount was not enough "over the long run" to help those students.
Arizona is under a federal court order to spend more on English-learning classes, stemming from the 1992 court case Flores vs. Arizona.
The letter was sent to House Speaker Jim Weiers, Senate President Ken Bennett and Napolitano. In part, it reads:
"We owe it to Arizona's children to help them acquire English language skills, to help them become positive contributors to Arizona's economy and communities. Arizona has failed to meet the needs of an entire generation of Arizona's children in this area."
Two senators and six representatives signed the letter: Sens. Carolyn Allen of Scottsdale and Toni Hellon of Tucson and Reps. Jennifer Burns of Tucson, Pete Hershberger of Tucson, Steve Huffman of Tucson, Bill Konopnicki of Safford, Marian McClure of Tucson and Tom O'Halleran of Sedona.
The Legislature and Napolitano have to decide not only when they will have a special session to deal with Flores but with a plan for corporate tuition tax credits, which Napolitano also vetoed Friday.
The veto of the tuition tax credits enraged Republican leaders, who said that Napolitano broke their negotiated budget deal. Napolitano said Republicans broke the deal when they ignored Democrats during negotiations on the English-learner legislation.
Napolitano wanted the tuition tax credit plan to end after five years. The Republicans passed a bill that called only for a review at the end of the five years, similar to how most tax credits are structured in Arizona. Republicans insist that Napolitano's top budget official signed off on that change to the tax credit bill.
Napolitano wants to call the Legislature into a special session to address those two issues, but nothing has been scheduled yet.
Sen. Robert Blendu, a Litchfield Park Republican, said it's hard for Napolitano to justify those vetoes after her staff was touting the benefits of the bipartisan budget.
"There is a dark cloud over the process now, and the governor needs to remove that dark cloud," Blendu said. "I don't know how we go to our members and tell them that the governor is OK with things. That will be a hurdle."
Democratic Sen. Robert Cannell had a different take, defending Napolitano's credibility in her negotiations.
"I doubt very much she lied to them," said Cannell, D-Yuma. "Maybe everyone can settle down and see what is best for the state next year instead of political posturing."
For now, some lawmakers are focusing on fixing Flores before they get taken back to court.
Burns said Arizona has spent more than $20 million on attorneys' fees in various court cases in the past 10 years. She said the eight co-signers of the letter don't have a timeframe in mind but they want a "reasonable, responsible" solution that doesn't just throw money at the problem.
"Let's do this the right way before the court penalizes us," she said.
The eight moderate Republicans wrote a letter to Gov. Janet Napolitano and legislative leaders urging them to tackle the problem before the state gets hauled back into federal court and risks losing $400 million in federal highway funding.
The letter was written after Napolitano vetoed a Republican-backed bill Friday that would have set aside $42 million to assist thousands of Spanish-speaking Arizona students deficient in English skills.
In her veto letter, Napolitano said the amount was not enough "over the long run" to help those students.
Arizona is under a federal court order to spend more on English-learning classes, stemming from the 1992 court case Flores vs. Arizona.
The letter was sent to House Speaker Jim Weiers, Senate President Ken Bennett and Napolitano. In part, it reads:
"We owe it to Arizona's children to help them acquire English language skills, to help them become positive contributors to Arizona's economy and communities. Arizona has failed to meet the needs of an entire generation of Arizona's children in this area."
Two senators and six representatives signed the letter: Sens. Carolyn Allen of Scottsdale and Toni Hellon of Tucson and Reps. Jennifer Burns of Tucson, Pete Hershberger of Tucson, Steve Huffman of Tucson, Bill Konopnicki of Safford, Marian McClure of Tucson and Tom O'Halleran of Sedona.
The Legislature and Napolitano have to decide not only when they will have a special session to deal with Flores but with a plan for corporate tuition tax credits, which Napolitano also vetoed Friday.
The veto of the tuition tax credits enraged Republican leaders, who said that Napolitano broke their negotiated budget deal. Napolitano said Republicans broke the deal when they ignored Democrats during negotiations on the English-learner legislation.
Napolitano wanted the tuition tax credit plan to end after five years. The Republicans passed a bill that called only for a review at the end of the five years, similar to how most tax credits are structured in Arizona. Republicans insist that Napolitano's top budget official signed off on that change to the tax credit bill.
Napolitano wants to call the Legislature into a special session to address those two issues, but nothing has been scheduled yet.
Sen. Robert Blendu, a Litchfield Park Republican, said it's hard for Napolitano to justify those vetoes after her staff was touting the benefits of the bipartisan budget.
"There is a dark cloud over the process now, and the governor needs to remove that dark cloud," Blendu said. "I don't know how we go to our members and tell them that the governor is OK with things. That will be a hurdle."
Democratic Sen. Robert Cannell had a different take, defending Napolitano's credibility in her negotiations.
"I doubt very much she lied to them," said Cannell, D-Yuma. "Maybe everyone can settle down and see what is best for the state next year instead of political posturing."
For now, some lawmakers are focusing on fixing Flores before they get taken back to court.
Burns said Arizona has spent more than $20 million on attorneys' fees in various court cases in the past 10 years. She said the eight co-signers of the letter don't have a timeframe in mind but they want a "reasonable, responsible" solution that doesn't just throw money at the problem.
"Let's do this the right way before the court penalizes us," she said.
