TO CLIPS INDEX - Clips for April 10, 2008

Editorial: Tread on it lightly
The Arizona Republic- April 10, 2008 12:00 AM
When you're trying to get out of a hole that's almost $3 billion deep, you want ropes, chains,
anchors, picks and every other climbing tool. But Arizona has legal limits on one tool: spending
cuts. The Voter Protection Act prevents legislators from reducing the expenditures required by
initiatives. The result is that some big-ticket items are exempt from trimming. Most state aid to
education is off-limits. A large part of medical coverage for low-income Arizonans, through the
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, is out of bounds. Together, they represent
roughly half of state spending. When we need financial flexibility, part of the budget is
completely rigid.

Opinion: Classes in how to teach: Not a prerequisite for great teachers
The Arizona Republic - April 10, 2008 12:00 AM
An Education Trust study has found - again - that those smart, motivated college grads working
as teachers through Teach for America are having a positive effect on K-12 test scores in math
and science. Colleges of education hate these reports, since the TFA teachers have minimal
"pedagogy" prep - meaning they've spent their college years learning subject matter, not
learning how to teach.

Commentary: Resource officers a better option to keep schools, students safe
East Valley Tribune - April 10, 2008
After 30 years of serving the students and parents of Arizona as a public high school teacher, I
feel that I can speak first-hand to the current issue of guns on campuses. First, let’s clear the air.
I am a gun owner and believe in the right to bear arms. This is not an issue of gun control, but of
common sense and the best interest of safety in our schools. In a recent commentary by Sen.
Karen Johnson, she claims that an armed presence on our campuses will deter those who plan
mass public shootings. “Even thugs, it turns out, care about protecting their skin and are less
likely to engage in a violent act if they think someone might oppose them,” she wrote.

North Campus view has been marred
Arizona Daily Sun - April 10, 2008
To the editor: Those residents of Flagstaff who have spent as much of their lives here as I have,
28 years, give or take, probably remember when the southwest entrance to NAU was a beautiful
pasture with real horses grazing under the blue sky. Many years ago that pasture was replaced
by a shopping center. Well, we still had the north entrance to NAU. Beautiful lawns and trees
surrounding old stone and brick buildings, peaceful and serene under the blue sky. Today, the
north entrance is marked by shadow-casting structures that advertise Drury's Inn.

Editorial: Lawmakers tinker with ballot initiatives at their peril
Arizona Daily Sun - April 10, 2008
Our view: Before raiding voter approved funding to balance the budget, state legislators need to
rethink the rules that govern direct democracy. Live by the ballot initiative, die by the ballot initiative.
That's our reaction to word that some Arizona lawmakers want to limit or divert voter-mandated
spending because state revenues are well below projections, resulting in a budget deficit. These
are some of the same legislators who voted to kill off a state property tax, thus forgoing $250 million
in annual revenue during a deficit year.

Rio Nuevo panel quietly folds tent
Arizona Daily Star - April 10, 2008
Advisory group disbands, calling itself irrelevant
The citizens committee that oversaw Rio Nuevo Downtown redevelopment plans for nearly a
decade disbanded Wednesday. Some members of the group said their work was done, while
others said they might as well shut down because they have no influence with the city. Even those
who complained Tucson would be losing a watchdog with the elimination of the Rio Nuevo Citizens
Advisory Committee — such as developer Richard Studwell — said the group had been rendered
irrelevant for more than a year and should be terminated.

PCC's 3-year plan zeroes in on remedial ed, financial aid
Arizona Daily Star - April 10, 2008
Coincides with reaccreditation process in 2010
Pima Community College officials Wednesday presented a draft three-year plan that focuses on
improvements in student learning, remedial education and redesigning student services like
financial aid. The plan, which coincides with the college's preparation for its 10-year reaccreditation
process in 2010, calls for creativity and innovation in addressing the most important issues for the
college, said Chancellor Roy Flores as he presented the plan to the college's governing board.

Editorial: Tax repeal deserves veto
Arizona Daily Star - April 10, 2008
Gov. Janet Napolitano must veto a fiscally foolish measure passed by the Legislature that would
make permanent a property tax cut that's costing the state $250 million in revenues annually. The
majority of lawmakers voted for the cut as if they were oblivious to the fact that Arizona is struggling
with a $1.6 billion budget deficit this year and a deficit expected to be at least $2 billion next year.
There is no need to plop another $250 million in red ink on top of that. The state equalization
property tax was suspended for three years in a budget deal struck between lawmakers and
Napolitano in 2006.

No Child Left Behind opt-out plan revived
The Tucson Citizen - April 10, 2008
PHOENIX - A bill that would allow Arizona to opt out of the No Child Left Behind federal school
accountability law is back on track at the Legislature. A Senate committee that rejected the bill
on a tie vote a week ago reversed itself and endorsed the measure, approved earlier by the
House. Two additional members of the Senate committee were on hand for Wednesday's vote.
That makes the bill ready for consideration by the full Senate after a legal review.

Bill would provide state-funded scholarships
Tucson Citizen - April 10, 2008
PHOENIX - Just 14, Carolyn Fry already has her sights on a career in interior design after she
graduates from high school in 2012. She plans to join the Navy to raise money before heading
to college. "My parents don't make a lot of money," said Fry, an eighth-grader at Bullhead City
Junior High School. "My dad graduated the same year as I was born, and he's still paying off his
loans. I don't want to have that problem." Fry and three classmates addressed the Senate Higher
Education Committee on Wednesday to register their support for a bill that would create a
Centennial Scholars Program.

Study puts damper on new NAU campus
Tucson Citizen - April 10, 2008
LAKE HAVASU CITY - A Northern Arizona University campus in Lake Havasu City would not have
enough community support and wouldn't be economically feasible, a consultant's report says.
The report projected that the cost of developing such a campus would exceed $250 million and
operations would run $35 million a year. There is no way a reasonable fee or tuition structure
could cover those costs within the first eight to 10 years of opening, according to the report,
released Tuesday.

Our Opinion: Napolitano should veto absurd repeal of property tax
Tucson Citizen - April 10, 2008
The Legislature passed another tax cut Tuesday, even as it grapples with $1 billion-plus budget
deficits created partly because of previous tax cuts. Considering our state's dire needs in health
care, education and transportation, the decision to repeal a property tax is particularly absurd. In
2006, the tax was suspended for three years, so it wouldn't be in effect till 2009-10 anyway. But a
permanent repeal would exacerbate the state's loss of revenue. The tax costs $95 a year on a
$250,000 home, or $926 a year for a $1 million business. And it raises about $250 million
annually for education equalization.

Opinion: Sober truth is liquor-ad bans in college newspapers don't work
Tucson Citizen - April 10, 2008
There are moments when a courtroom win for free expression in America may not entirely seem
like such a good thing to some Americans, for some distinctly non-First Amendment reasons. I
confess to a bit of dueling emotions myself about a recent victory for college newspapers in
Virginia. A federal magistrate judge in Richmond tossed out a longtime state ban on alcohol-
related advertising in college newspapers, a statute that legislators said was aimed at reducing
underage student drinking. In 2004, a similar state law in Pennsylvania was voided. Judge M.
Hannah Lauck held that the Virginia law violated the student publications' constitutional right to
free expression. The student publications argued that not being able to run such ads put them
automatically at a competitive disadvantage against commercial papers that faced no such
prohibition against advertising beer, wine or liquor, but also reached students.

Think ASU's busy now?
ASU Web Devil - April 10, 2008
College enrollment in Southwest to increase through 2021
A jump in the number of Hispanics and a rapidly increasing college-age population in Arizona
will create challenges for ASU as we advance into the next decade, according to a new report.
In March, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, or WICHE, projected that,
while fewer high-school graduates will be produced in Northern and Midwestern states, the
number of high-school graduates in Arizona will increase exponentially through the 2020s.

Office illuminates job market picture
ASU Web Devil - April 10, 2008
America's poor economy is giving many graduates a rude awakening as they enter the job
market. However, the School of Global Management and Leadership, or SGML, is trying to
make the transition from student to professional as realistic and effective as possible through
its Office for Professional Advancement and Engagement. Ursula Scheren, academic services
manager and head of the Office for Professional Advancement and Engagement, said the
program strives to get "students who are going through their degree and certification programs
to better prepare for more realistic expectations for when they get into the work force."

Students wary as part-time faculty are cut
ASU Web Devil - April 9, 2008
The decision to replace West campus part-time professors with tenured faculty next semester
has drawn praise and criticism from students on campus. The release of faculty-associate
professors, or temporary faculty members, is a move that West campus Vice President Elizabeth
Langland said she thinks is the right investment for West students. The release would bring the
school a better standing in the academic world by hiring more tenured instructors. "Hiring full-time
faculty is more expensive, not less expensive, than hiring temporary faculty, but it's the right
investment for the students," Langland said. Langland would not reveal the number of faculty
associates released, but all of these teachers are expected to be let go.

Credit card bill halted
UA Daily Wildcat Online - April 10, 2008
PHOENIX - A bill aimed to stop credit card companies from soliciting students on campus died in
the Senate's Higher Education Committee yesterday, a move the bill's sponsor called "unexpected."
Rep. Ed Ableser, D-Tempe, said he was shocked that after a 30-minute presentation about his bill,
it was still halted in the Higher Education Committee. "It's very frustrating to see the actions that took
place in committee today," he said, adding that he had anticipated a bright future for the legislation.

Editorial: Honoring the Honors College
UA Daily Wildcat Online - April 10, 2008
Watching the Wildcats be bested by the Sun Devils is painful on the football field and the basketball
court alike. But it's even worse in the academic arena. Despite the UA's clear claim to superior
academics, there's one area where ASU increasingly has us beat - our Honors College. It's time for
that to change. ASU's Barrett Honors College is a media darling. In recent years it's been hailed as
"a rising star" and "the best in America." Its hefty $10 million endowment gives it the resources to
recruit and promote top students, and that investment is paying off - the school is consistently in the
top-10 at enrolling National Merit Scholars. It's also consistently landing more and more national
awards - an ASU student won a prestigious Truman Scholarship just last week. Seriously, ASU?

Arizona business groups hail passage of property tax repeal
The Business Journal of Phoenix - April 10, 2008
Many real estate and business advocates hail passage of a bill they say staves off a $250 million
property tax increase next year. Other groups worry about the measure's impact. The next step is
whether Gov. Janet Napolitano signs the bill that would make permanent the temporary repeal of
a tax on residential and commercial property. The so-called equalization rate was suspended in
2006, but would return without additional action. The bill gained approval in the Arizona Senate
Tuesday, having previously passed the House.

Out of the Money
Inside Higher Ed - April 10, 2008
Few announcements are more joyous for colleges to share than expansions of aid packages
or loan forgiveness programs. But for all of the adulation, there can be another side — students,
or in some cases alumni, who feel that they’ve been left behind. That’s the case at Columbia
University and the University of Chicago, where two such financial announcements have been
widely praised but remain perplexing to those who won’t directly benefit from some of the
changes. Colleges often face tough choices about how to lure students without spending beyond
their means, and officials at Columbia and Chicago say their institutions are doing what they can
to expand opportunity for everyone. Critics in both cases say the colleges could afford to do more.

Higher Ed’s Changing Economic Landscape
Inside Higher Ed - April 10, 2008
Recent decisions by a number of our major private institutions are changing the higher education
financial landscape significantly and quickly. Both Harvard and Yale Universities have announced
increasing financial aid to families making incomes up to $180,000 and $200,000, respectively.
Stanford University has now announced that parents with incomes of less than $100,000 will no
longer pay tuition, and parents with incomes of less than $60,000 will not be expected to pay tuition
or contribute to the costs of room, board and other expenses. These universities, along with many
others, also have eliminated or significantly reduced the need for student loans. At Vassar, we just
replaced all loans with scholarship funds for families with incomes up to $60,000, and reduced the
loan burden for families with incomes up to $70,000. What are the economics of these changes and
do they signal a positive move for higher education and for society?