AZ Schools Request $100M For Counselors, Resource Officers; Education Department Only Has $20M

By Mark Brodie
Published: Tuesday, October 8, 2019 - 12:23pm

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Mariana Dale/KJZZ
School lockers.

The state Department of Education received more than 800 applications for a piece of the $20 million available to schools for counselors and school resource officers.

Those applications represent nearly 300 districts or charter schools requesting over 1,100 positions to fill a need that has long been part of the school funding debate, but there’s a key problem: The $20 million allocated to the cause by the state Legislature won’t be enough to cover each and every request.

That means Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman is already urging lawmakers to recognize the need for more money before this round of funds has even been awarded to schools.

To talk about this issue, The Show reached out to ADE Policy Director Callie Koslak.

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