Arizona Senate waives school spending cap, averts crisis

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - The Arizona Senate joined the House in voting to waive a constitutional cap on K-12 school spending that threatened to shut down public campuses across the state.

The House voted last week to give schools the ability to spend $1.154 billion appropriated money last year that would have put them over the constitutional spending limit.

Schools would have exceeded the spending limit on March 1st and would have had to quickly plan for cutbacks that could have included closures or layoffs if the legislature had not acted.

But Monday’s 23-6 Senate vote gave the measure the needed two-thirds majority in both chambers and goes into effect immediately, averting a shutdown.

The vote came after some majority Republicans who had withheld their support signed onto the measure.