{"id":947,"date":"2023-01-27T22:55:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T22:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stand.org\/arizona\/?p=947"},"modified":"2024-12-11T16:34:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T16:34:05","slug":"lift-with-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stand.org\/arizona\/our-stories\/lift-with-love\/","title":{"rendered":"The AEL: Why Legislators Need to #LiftWithLove"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our local public<\/strong> schools<\/strong> in Arizona are under attack<\/strong> once again. Currently, the legislature has not voted to pass a one-year waiver to address the aggregate expenditure limit (AEL), and as a result, schools will be forced to cut $1.3 billion dollars<\/strong> on March 1st<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL)?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Arizona Public Schools Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) is a state law that limits the amount of money that public schools in Arizona can spend each year. It was passed in 1980 to set a spending cap for all public schools based on attendance and inflation (it excludes charter schools since they didn\u2019t exist in 1980).\u200b The AEL is an antiquated measure that does not account for modern day school finance or the ways education has changed since 1980.<\/strong> The AEL is calculated each year by taking the average per-pupil spending for the previous three years, and then adjusting it for inflation and student enrollment. The AEL is then used to determine the maximum amount of money that each school district can spend in the following year \u2013 regardless of how much the state legislature and the Governor have budgeted for schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does it impact our schools?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This year alone, schools across the state will lose $1.3 billion. This will mean that after March 1 districts may have to<\/p>\n\n\n\n