Gov. Doug Ducey is proposing an $11.4 billion budget for Arizona that focuses much of the new spending on schools and universities while depositing more than a half-billion dollars in the state's rainy day fund.
Ducey's proposal released Friday would increase state spending by 9.2 percent and would be the largest single-year increase since he took office.
The proposed budget would implement the next wave of teacher raises Ducey promised last year, when teachers walked out of the classroom, marched on the state Capitol and ultimately secured a promise of a 20 percent raise by 2020. It also would give a raise to state police officers and prison guards and hire more staff to keep watch on charter schools.
Ducey and the Republican-controlled Legislature will negotiate a final budget in the coming months.
