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Sponsors needed for Arts and Cultural Festival BY PEORIA TIMES STAFF
T SPORTS .........13 Saguaro stuns Liberty in Open Division semifinal
DECEMBER 8, 2022
Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
he 21st annual Peoria Arts and Cultural Festival is slated for Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Old Town Peoria. This event serves as a fundraiser for the Peoria Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides grants to teachers and scholarships to students in the Peoria Unified School District. The event lends a unique opportunity for businesses to sponsor the event, which would allow them to advertise their business in front of thousands of communi-
ty members. Although free to the public, multiple sponsorship options are available by visiting the Peoria Education Foundation website. At the Peoria Arts and Cultural Festival, community members can enjoy a free, interactive arts experience with interactive arts activities. This event brings in more than 15,000 attendees and features more than 3,000 pieces of student artwork and 80-plus performances on multiple stages, and has grown to be one of the largest events in the West Valley.
The Peoria Arts and Cultural festival includes a full day of fun that highlights band, choir, orchestra, dance and visual art near 83rd and Grand avenues in Peoria. There are free activities for children, food trucks and performances that take place throughout the day with students from Peoria Unified’s 34 elementary and seven high schools. For more information on the event, visit peoriaunified.org/artsfestival. To inquire about sponsorships, call 623-486-6100 or email pusdpr@pusd11.net. PT
There’s continuing debate over teacher compensation and whether state education funds are helping teachers or being diverted to other budgetary priorities. Meanwhile, inadequate salaries for educators are cause for concern for Beth Lewis, director of Save Our Schools Arizona, a nonprofit teacher advocacy organization. She said the biggest fear is the impact it will have on teachers and the education system as a whole. “It is no surprise that we have a massive lack of teachers who are willing to work for this pay and, under these working conditions, these numbers don’t surprise me whatsoever,” Lewis said. Educators made their dissatisfaction known in 2018 with the RedforEd movement. Educators in Arizona and other states went on strike for anywhere from five to 10
days, fighting for better salaries and fewer budget cuts. Following the walkouts, Gov. Doug Ducey passed the “20x2020” plan — a plan to increase Arizona’s teacher salary by 20% by the year 2020. While Business.org ranked Arizona No. 50 — the worst state in the United States for teacher pay — as reporting teacher pay has declined by 9.59% from 2010-21. Matt Beienburg, director of education at the Goldwater Institute, said Business.org’s numbers don’t quite match up with data from the state auditor general, however. Data from the auditor general shows the average teacher salary was $56,349 in the 2021 fiscal year, June 2020 to June 2021. Additionally, Beienburg disputes Busi-
Fight for education funding is an ongoing debate BY SAMANTHA REA
Peoria Times Staff Writer
FEATURES .....14 ‘Big trains’ roll into the Valley for the holidays
OPINION.........................8 BUSINESS .....................11 SPORTS .........................13 FEATURES .....................14 CALENDAR ...................19 RELIGION......................22 YOUTH ..........................25 CLASSIFIEDS .................30
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ive years ago, Arizona teachers went on strike for eight days with the RedforEd movement to protest ongoing funding cuts and low salaries. In 2022, the strike ended but the fight continues. Arizona’s educators make 5.5% less than the state’s average wage across many occupations, comparing 2020-21 average wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to Business.org. While other states such as Pennsylvania, which ranks first, have made little adjustments to their teacher pay in the last 10 years, their educators make up to 28.5% above the state’s average salary. Business.org reported the average teacher salary in Arizona for 2020-21 to be $52,157.
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