Desert Acres to Classroom Dollars – Making Sense of Arizona’s State Land Trust

What do millions of acres of Arizona land have to do with your child’s classroom, teacher pay, housing costs, and the state’s future? More than most people realize.In this episode of BEST In Class, hosts Patti Bezanson and Peter Bezanson explore Arizona’s State Land Trust, a little-known but enormously important public asset created at statehood to support public education. Joined by Lorenzo Romero, President of BASIS Educational Ventures and former Arizona State Budget Director, and Glenn Farley, Director of Policy Research at Common Sense Institute Arizona, the conversation breaks down how the trust works, how it generates funding for schools, and why new research suggests Arizona may have left significant value on the table over the last century.Listeners will gain a clear understanding of the trust’s history, its impact on classrooms and communities today, and the policy choices that could shape school funding, housing, and economic growth for generations to come.