By DEXTER DUGGAN
PHOENIX — When the free-market Goldwater Institute based here issued an education policy memo in late June, that was only one result of the widespread Arizona teacher strike staged shortly before summer vacation began.
The strike was heralded by its organizers as a foretaste of activism to be used against conservative states.
Maneuverings following that strike have taken no vacation at all, with leftists hoping their activism will prove rewarding by raising taxes and defeating Republicans in Grand Canyon State November elections, and those on the other side cautioning about damage from that activism.
The #RedForEd movement deprived about 850,000 Arizona public-school students of their classes from April 26 to May 4, even though Republican Gov. Doug Ducey surprisingly agreed to a 20 percent teacher pay increase by 2020 even before the walkout began.
Although summer-vacation season was just around the corner, shutting the classrooms late in the educational year was useful for muscle-flexing and disruption by activists with goals other than higher teacher pay.
In early July, one of the poster boys from that shutdown, young music teacher Noah Karvelis, showed up as a speaker at the national Socialism 2018 conference in Chicago. Karvelis’ pro-Bernie Sanders tilt already was known, but his talk served as a reminder of his strong sympathies that his Arizona media supporters preferred to downplay.
An article posted July 11 at SocialistWorker.org said: “Karvelis was one of the teachers who participated in Socialism this year, bringing their experiences of organizing ‘red state’ teacher revolts in West Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona, and far beyond. The Friday (July 6) panel of educators, titled ‘Striking Back: Voices of the Teachers’ Rebellion,’ was one of many high points of the conference.”
Conservative Republican political consultant Constantin Querard told The Wanderer on July 16 that Karvelis “denies being a socialist and rejects the label, but he sure holds socialist positions, speaks at socialist conferences, etc.
“Does the media give a free pass to someone who speaks and writes racist things while speaking at racist rallies just because they claim they’re not racists? Of course not,” Querard said. “But apparently all you need to get off the socialist hook is a simple denial.”
During the Arizona shutdown, the Goldwater Institute warned it was a violation of the state’s constitution to deprive students of a public education.
On June 28 the institute (goldwaterinstitute.org) announced its “recommendations to Arizona State Board of Education to prevent future strikes.”
The institute posted that “it is unlawful for public employees to strike — and because the Arizona Constitution guarantees the state’s kids a right to an education, school districts that participate in such strikes by shutting down schools are denying the constitutional right to an education to ‘those too young to pay taxes and who have no vote.’
“Both the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Attorney General have issued opinions agreeing with that perspective,” the article said. “But when the illegal #RedForEd school closures occurred this past spring, Arizona school districts were all too accommodating, with some districts even choosing to remain closed when teachers wanted to return to work.
“As the Goldwater memo maintains, it is the responsibility of the State Board of Education to enforce the law,” the article said.
“ ‘The #RedForEd school shutdowns were blatantly illegal, and the State Board of Education has the power to discipline those public-school employees who have engaged in illegal conduct,’ said Goldwater Institute Vice President for Litigation Timothy Sandefur, who authored the memo.”
Another result of the shutdown was pursuit of a ballot initiative that supposedly would raise taxes for education only on the wealthiest Arizonans.
More than 270,000 signatures reportedly were on petitions for the hike submitted in early July, with about 150,000 of them required to be valid and able to survive a legal challenge before the measure is approved for the November ballot.
Tucson’s ABC television affiliate, KGUN (Channel 9), posted on July 5 that a supporter of the initiative said targeting the highest earners was a political decision based on polling.
KGUN reported: “When asked why not make all state taxpayers give up part of their income to fund public schools, Joe Thomas, Arizona Education Association president, says polling indicated they would receive the most support making only the state’s highest earners pay.
“(We put) three major polls out in the field, online, reaching out directly through cellphones and direct calls, and they told us this is what they want,” Thomas said.
Thomas also had been a major activist during the spring teacher walkout.
As for the television station’s phraseology about whether to “make all state taxpayers give up part of their income to fund public schools,” the question more accurately should have noted that education already is funded broadly, not only by top earners.
In a story posted July 15, reporter Howard Fischer, of Capitol Media Services, wrote: “Thomas bristled at questions of whether such a system to fund education on the backs of a small minority of Arizonans is fair. ‘How is it fair that students are in overcrowded, underfunded classrooms right now?’ he responded.”
The Phoenix Business Journal posted July 5: “The measure would nearly double Arizona’s top income tax rate from 4.54 percent to 9 percent. That would make it one of the country’s highest income-tax rates and result in a higher rate than states such as New Jersey and New York, according to the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which opposes the initiative.”
A news release posted July 10 at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry site (azchamber.com), noting Arizona teacher Karvelis’ address to the Socialism 2018 conference, said, “Karvelis did not mention that his plan represents a doubling of Arizona’s top income-tax rate, nor did he mention that it targets Arizona small businesses.”
The socialist meeting occurred at Chicago’s Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, not at a student hostel, the release chuckled.
The release quoted Jaime Molera, chairman of Arizonans for Great Schools and a Strong Economy, a group opposed to this tax-hike plan, as saying:
“We’ve been told for months by the tax-increase activists that this wasn’t about ideology or party. And yet one day after filing their petitions, the campaign leadership publicly touts the extreme-left position that this is truly about societal change and stating, ‘we’ve built a new organization, a new political power in Arizona and it’s taking control . . . of the future of the state.’
“I have no doubt Arizona voters will see right through this façade,” Molera was quoted. “Our citizens want more resources for schools, but they will not hand over Arizona’s economy to any political fringe.”
A chamber news release a few days earlier, on July 5, quoted Molera that the tax initiative seeks “to raise the state personal income tax by 98 percent, from the current 4.54 percent to 9 percent,” and “dramatically (raise) the income tax on small businesses.”
In addition, Capitol Media Services’ reporter Fischer wrote, the way the initiative is set up, it would mean higher taxes for even earners not at the top of the scale, due to a “bracket creep” issue.
Fischer reported that “Arizona’s top legislative attorney, Mike Braun, says the way the #InvestInEd initiative is written eliminates the requirement for the state Department of Revenue to make future inflation adjustments. More immediately, Braun said it would roll the brackets back to what they were in 2014, meaning some people who until now had been getting the benefits of indexing will lose it.”
The Wanderer asked political consultant Querard if he thinks the initiative will make it to the ballot. Querard replied: “No idea on the initiative qualifying, but I’m sure opponents will make the point about small businesses. I don’t think it will pass. There is also the newer coverage of the fact that the way they wrote it, it will raise taxes on everyone!”
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