Arizona Governor Doug Ducey wants to pump $114 million in new money into K-12 education for initiatives including teacher raises, signing bonuses for low-income school instructors and an expansion of full-day kindergarten.
The new spending for K-12 education released in Ducey's budget proposal Friday is above required inflation increases. A $52 million boost in university spending is another highlight of the $9.8 billion plan for the budget year that starts July 1.
The new university cash mostly goes to help float a new $1 billion construction bond package.
The new spending is well above the $24 million the Legislature's analysists predicted would be available.
The budget doesn't include across-the-board pay raises for state employees, who haven't seen one in nearly 10 years and are earning 19 percent below market wages.
