Highlights
- Maricopa Community Colleges have received no state funding for more than a decade, a pattern that continued in the FY2027 budget.
- The district says its footprint supports one in every 30 jobs in Maricopa County.
- Maricopa County's Board of Supervisors approved $6.4 million in federal American Rescue Plan dollars for the system in January 2023, a one-time infusion that does not replace recurring state aid.
- Arizona PBS and the Arizona Digital Free Press have both reported on the state's ongoing disinvestment from the community college system.
Maricopa Community Colleges are calling on Arizona state lawmakers to restore direct funding after more than a decade without state aid, arguing the district's economic reach, one in every 30 jobs in Maricopa County, makes the disinvestment a regional business problem, not just an education one.
FOX 10's Annalisa Pardo reported the appeal Monday. The colleges' case is straightforward: the state has provided zero direct funding to the district for over ten years, a streak that Arizona PBS and the Arizona Digital Free Press have both confirmed continued through the FY2027 budget cycle.
The gap has forced the district to rely on local property taxes and tuition. In-state tuition at public community colleges in Maricopa County runs between $1,878 and $2,046 annually, according to CommunityCollegeReview.com, which tracks 32 colleges serving 129,655 students countywide. Scottsdale Community College, one of the system's campuses, enrolls approximately 10,000 students.
The most recent infusion of outside dollars came not from the state but from the county. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved more than $6.4 million on January 25, 2023, drawn from federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, to fund career training and education programs for a minimum of 250 students through December 2024. The county separately committed $14.5 million for credentialing workers in in-demand fields. Neither allocation substitutes for recurring state appropriations.
The legislature's next opportunity to act is the FY2028 budget cycle. No vote date has been set.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- Fox 10 Phoenix retrieved 13/07/2026 05:05
- azpbs.org retrieved 13/07/2026 05:05
- arizonadigitalfreepress.com retrieved 13/07/2026 05:05
- communitycollegereview.com retrieved 13/07/2026 05:05
- maricopa.edu retrieved 13/07/2026 05:05
- Maricopa County retrieved 13/07/2026 05:05
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 13/07/2026 05:05. Every claim traces to a source.
