(Photo by Will Stone - KJZZ News)

Governor Doug Ducey announcing his new education funding plan.

Gov. Doug Ducey has unveiled a proposal to funnel billions of new dollars to public education in Arizona starting in 2017. Ducey made the announcement on Thursday at a high school in Phoenix.

He billed it as a “non-partisan,” fiscally responsible plan — one that does not shift the burden onto Arizona taxpayers. Instead, the revenue will come from a special trust, made up of state-owned land. That fund already supplies money to education, but last year it was less than $100 million.

Ducey’s proposal would kick up the rate from 2.5 percent to 10 percent for half a decade. That would amount to $325 million annually for 5 years. After that, the rate would drop down to 5 percent for the following 5 years. 

MORE: Arizona Has Lowest Rate Of State Spending On Education

“Our public schools say they need more money to do their job," said Ducey. "Under this plan, they will get these resources. These are new dollars. No smoke and mirrors. No bait and switch."

Ducey hopes the measure will appear on the ballot in 2016. He also calls it a “pathway” to resolving the state’s ongoing lawsuit with school districts that argue they are owed more money because of inflation. A recent report shows per-pupil spending in Arizona is more than $3,000 below the national average. This proposal would temporarily boost that by about $300, not including inflation or other increases.

Andrew Morrill, president of the Arizona Education Association, said the money should go directly into the funding formulas.

“The distribution of this revenue, if voters approve it, is absolutely critical," said Morrill. "because our schools are not funded on good ideas, our schools are funded by commitments to put revenue in classes.”

The governor is pledging the money would solely fund education.