Valley teachers were out in full force, wearing their red t-shirts on national #RedforEd day Tuesday.
Fueled by outrage, disappointment, and passion after the Arizona Supreme Court tossed out the InvestinEd ballot initiative teachers had worked so to collect signatures for all summer long, there was a new fire burning within the movement.
The InvestinEd initiative would have funneled millions of dollars into education funding by taxing those making over $250,000. The supreme court cited "unclear language" before tossing the initiative off the November ballot.
Marisol Garcia, the Vice President of the Arizona Education Association, said they were sure the motives were political behind this decision.
"We had a lot of polling data; we had a number of attorneys that looked into this. This was shocking, and it almost felt like completely out of left field," Garcia said.
Teachers all over the Valley were taking to social media encouraging school districts to designate leaders, to organize and to campaign in their communities.
Despite the lack of the ballot initiative, all eyes were still focused on the November election.
"We need good policy and the only way to get good policy is to get good policymakers," Garcia said, during a community event to paint cars with RedforEd signs and slogans, on this national RedforEd day.
Garcia added they were getting messages from RedforEd organizers all over the country expressing shock and outrage over what was taking place in Arizona.
"RedforEd is not dead. It is nowhere near even starting the work that we need to get done, and we are resolved to make sure we have the best schools our kids deserve," Garcia said.
RedforEd supporters planned to protest in front of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce building on Wednesday, as the chamber funded the legal challenge to the InvestinEd act.
Jaime Molera, chair of Arizonans for Great Schools and a Strong Economy celebrated the ballot measure's disqualification.
"Not only was the initiative poorly crafted, it was the wrong plan. It would have harmed all taxpayers, small businesses, and would not have delivered on its promises for teachers, while weakening education reforms that were achieved in a bipartisan fashion under Proposition 301," Molera said in a statement.
Opponents said the measure would have been catastrophic for Arizona's economy and small business owners.
RedforEd organizers planned to canvass their communities to get people to register to vote, and encourage them to support candidates who supported investing in education.
