Arizona FRC, FLL and FTC teams need your help!!!!!

[Donut]

I am not looking forward to seeing what gets passed in the coming weeks by Arizona's state legislature. Not only do I have to be concerned about the quality and cost of my education at the University of Arizona (since the state is considering cutting 40% of their current support for the 3 in state universities), I now have to be concerned about the future of my former team back in Phoenix that I still have close ties with (as well as the programs they continue to offer at the school since my brother is there).

This would absolutely decimate a good portion of teams in Arizona for next year. We've always used tax credits as a major form of income for the team and brought in no less than $2000 a year on them, but this year they've been especially needed. As our major sponsors have all pulled support over the past 2 years (our founding sponsors are no longer able to buy parts and donate the entry fee cost for us) we've turned to tax credits to keep the team alive until more sponsorship is found, and I think we received almost enough this year to cover the entry fee. It's always been our policy to keep at least enough money in our accounts to ensure we can compete the next year with $0 from any source, but if the tax credit system in Arizona were to disappear for a number of years our reserve funds will do little more than allow us to compete for one extra season before the team disbands.

What really concerns me is that we have the lowest spending per student in the entire country, and yet the legislature is pushing for major cuts to the budget because education occupies a larger chunk of the state budget than anything else. If we cut this much, what is the state still spending money on? Maybe Arizona is trying to become the first state in the country to have no taxes and no public funding?