Urgent Budget Letter to State Legislators

Please write your state legislator (whom you can find at http://www.azleg.gov/) in support of funding public education without a sales tax increase. Republican leadership refuses to hand over the budget they passed June 4 to Governor Brewer because she said she would veto it. They have totally stalled out budget negotiations. Here's what I sent today.

Message sent to the following recipients:
Representative Bradley
Representative Farley
Senator Aboud
Message text follows:

Amethyst Hinton Sainz
3xx xxxxxx
Tucson, AZ 85XXX


June 25, 2009

[recipient address was inserted here]


Dear [recipient name was inserted here],

Thank you for your ongoing support of public education. Through my
experience of moving to TUSD after 13 years of teaching, becoming RIFfed,
having the opportunity to lobby, and keeping more up to date on the budget
process at the state level, I have learned SO much, and have finally
learned a little bit about who represents me at the state level.

I am proud to be able to say that you are my representative. So often
throughout these battles, we are hearing about the ideology of many
senators and representatives who do not believe in public education and
truly do not care to fund it. In the face of this complete ignorance of
the role of public education in this state, I applaud you for holding true
to this most democratic and equalizing of ideals: an educated citizenry.

I am beginning to despair, but please do everything you can to fund
education without relying on an additional sales tax. To me, this is
allowing businesses to continue to retain unfair tax advantages while the
strapped middle class is being asked to shoulder more and more of the
burden of educating the future employees and customers of these
businesses. It is just too much.

Please do whatever you can over the next week.

Sincerely,


Amethyst Hinton Sainz