Governor Hobbs Vetoes Education Bills Including Superintendent Salary Transparency Law

PHOENIX — Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed three Republican-backed education bills this week, including one that would have required school districts to be more transparent about the salaries and contracts of their top officials.

The most contentious veto targets HB 2075, sponsored by Republican state Rep. David Livingston. The bill would have compelled all public and charter school districts to submit the contracts for their superintendents, assistant superintendents and chief financial officers to the Arizona Department of Education as public records.

In her veto letter, Hobbs rejected the bill because it does not cover all education options in the state, citing Arizona's "robust school choice environment."

"This bill fails to ensure that all options in the marketplace are held to the same level of transparency," the Democrat wrote.

"We have a lot of great superintendents, but, as an example, there is one who makes $400,000 plus benefits and is allowed to run side businesses. Taxpayers have the right to know that," Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne said.

Horne blasted the governor's veto as "outrageous" and "a slap against accountability." The Republican argued that district superintendents, their various assistants and chief financial officers should be accountable to the taxpayers who pay their salaries.

ABC15's investigation found that one Arizona school superintendent could earn about $475,000 this year in salary and other compensation. ABC15 obtained the contracts of more than 100 Arizona district school superintendents through public records requests and found dozens had bonuses, stipends, car allowances and other perks that could increase their annual pay by more than $50,000.

Horne said he supports other pending legislation that would put guardrails on Arizona district school administrator contracts and increase transparency. At least one bill, HB 4078, would have required charter schools to post on their websites contracts for chief financial officers and other administrators.

Horne's criticism comes after ABC15 found that more than a dozen Arizona school superintendents could make more than $300,000 in base pay and extra compensation. The ABC15 investigation also found several other states have laws requiring school districts to post superintendent contracts or salaries on their websites.

The governor vetoed two additional education bills this week:

HB 2040 would have required teachers to include adoption information whenever contraception, sexually transmitted diseases or sex education are brought up in the classroom.

Isela Blanc, community and legislative liaison for the Arizona Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, spoke against the bill at a recent hearing. She said it "does not improve education. It adds another layer of compliance to an already unworkable system and further discourages schools from offering any form of sex education instruction at all."

In Hobbs' veto letter, she said the state should focus on finding solutions that put children in safe homes "instead of placing onerous burdens on public education institutions that require adoption information to be provided in inappropriate settings."

HB 2008 would have banned public school libraries from financially supporting any professional librarian support services.

In her veto letter, Hobbs called the bill a "shameful and misguided attack on public school librarians" and cited declining literacy rates.

Horne released a statement on the vetoes saying: "This had support of both Republicans and Democrats, but the governor used her veto pen to make sure taxpayers are kept in the dark."

Other states have laws requiring school districts to post superintendent contracts or salaries on their websites. ABC15's database allows parents and taxpayers to look up the salary for their school district's superintendent.