Some Arizona school districts, not knowing whether Proposition 123 would pass, wrote special clauses in teacher contracts for next school year.
Proposition 123 would use $3.5 billion from the state land trust over 10 years for increased school funding. Teacher contracts are generally negotiated in early spring, making it impossible to wait until the May 17 election.
As teachers and administrators in the Phoenix Union High School District celebrated graduations Wednesday, they delayed any celebration about Prop 123. With a 7,600-vote gap between "yes" and "no" votes, the race is too close to call. The Secretary of State's office indicates as many as 100,000 ballots have not been counted yet.
In the Phoenix Union district, administrators say teachers will receive a .5 percent pay increase if the proposition fails. If it passes, they will receive a 1.5 to 2.5 percent increase to base pay, plus a 3 percent "bump" this summer. Some returning teachers will receive additional pay enhancements.
"We hoped for the best, but we prepared for the worst with a contingency," district spokesman Craig Pletenik said.
Pletenik says his district, like many in Arizona suffered budget cuts and layoffs during the Great Recession. He said Prop 123 "was about trying to make us as whole again as possible."
