For Immediate Release
Saturday, Nov. 5th, 2022
Contact: Josselyn Berry, Jberry@azdem.org
As Jill Biden Rallies Arizona Teachers, Kari Lake Throws Them Under the School Bus
When it comes to Kari Lake’s plans to help Arizona schools, Lake flunks out
PHOENIX–Earlier today, First Lady and educator Jill Biden rallied Arizona teachers at the Arizona Education Association, thanking them for their dedication to educating and fostering Arizona’s youth. The same can’t be said for Kari Lake, who has largely ignored one of the most pressing issues in Arizona: education. Other than calling to put government cameras in children’s classrooms, Lake has offered no plan for Arizona’s compounding education issues. Instead Lake has shrugged off Arizona’s education issues, listing them as the sort of things that “don’t matter” if she doesn’t address “election integrity.”
In September, the Arizona Mirror reported on Katie Hobbs’ and Kari Lake’s plans for education, and ran this headline: “Lake: No Plan Published.” Meanwhile, Katie Hobbs has detailed plans on a variety of issues facing parents, teachers and students in Arizona. Hobbs has plans for increasing school funding, teacher pay raises and training, school repairs, early childhood education, child care and more. Back in February, during the height of the legislative battle to avert nearly $1.2 billion in education cuts, Lake also gleefully opposed saving our schools from the funding cliff. After a vote to provide full funding for K-12 schools, Lake retweeted a message of support for the GOP legislators who opposed the funding, instead voting to push schools off the funding cliff and force teacher layoffs and program cuts. At the same time Hobbs called on the Senate to save K-12 schools from “this manufactured funding crisis.”
“Lake has spent more time calling for government mandated spy cameras in classrooms to record our children than she has putting forth a real plan to address Arizona’s education issues, like our teacher shortage, underfunding of our schools or imminent school budget cuts,” said Josselyn Berry, spokesperson for the Arizona Democratic Party. “It’s clear that as our schools and parents ring this alarm bell, Kari Lake isn’t listening in spite of the potential economic damage this could mean for local communities. Meanwhile, Katie Hobbs has been a longtime vocal supporter of our parents and teachers, putting out a detailed and comprehensive plan proving she’s ready to work with parents, educators and students to provide a world-class education for all.”