$900,000,000 ESA Voucher Costs Rob Arizona Public Schools
This week, the Arizona Department of Education issued an astronomical updated estimate projecting universal ESA vouchers will cost the state $900 million in 2024 alone. This double whammy will bankrupt the state through still-unbudgeted, ballooning costs and starve public schools by diverting funds. Read our statement here.
Based on these projections, every single one of Arizona’s nearly 3,000 public schools will lose out on $300,000 in desperately needed dollars that could fund teacher raises, additional counselors and aides, plus resources and extracurriculars. Arizona schools are funded 48th in the nation. It is criminal that our legislature is diverting nearly $1 billion to subsidize wealthy private schools instead of using these funds to finally move the needle for Arizona’s 1.1 million public school students.
Laurie Roberts said it all: “Republicans assure us their universal voucher program will save the state money. They either flunked math class or simply don’t understand how schools and ESA [vouchers] are funded.” This devil-may-care approach to funding is shocking coming from a party that claims the mantle of responsible fiscal stewardship.
ADE’s new ESA voucher costs represent a horrifying 1,295% spiral over initial estimates: the legislature originally estimated the program would cost the state just $64.5 million in its second year.
The massive gaps between the projected yearly cost for ESA vouchers ($64.5 million), the amount lawmakers had to budget (approximately $500 million), and this $900 million projection, means the legislature must now scramble to pay for the ballooning program. With no state surplus left to dip into after the special-interest spending spree of last month’s budget, some lawmakers have already signaled they wish to use the Rainy Day Fund, Arizona’s emergency savings account that contains only enough funds to cover 3-4 months of state expenses. It’s horrifying to contemplate draining our only remaining financial safety net on coupons to elite private schools for people who can already afford them.
Last time the state had to come up with $900 million, despite massive public protest, lawmakers slashed public school funding. We call on Governor Hobbs and the legislature to rein in the unaccountable, wasteful ESA voucher program before it bankrupts not just the public schools that 92% of Arizona families choose, but the state as a whole. Use our newest one-click email here: bit.ly/K12Emergency
Your voice matters. A simple phone call or email to your lawmaker asking them to prioritize funding for schools and responsible policies for education goes a long way. In order for Arizona to move forward and thrive, these critical discussions need to take place. Find your legislative district here. Email and phone information for your representatives is here and your senator is here.
Voucher MythBusters
Let’s debunk some commonly spread myths and disinformation about the ESA voucher program:
❌ The Claim: “The money follows the child.”
✅The Truth: Most of this $900 million is going to families who had already chosen private options. 3 in 4 applicants for ESA vouchers were already in private school or homeschool, and were not receiving state funding at all. Each of these students is an entirely new cost to taxpayers, and each ESA voucher represents a subtraction from the state budget used to fund public schools — with no identified revenue source for the state to cover those costs.
❌ The Claim: “ESA vouchers save Arizona money.”
✅ The Truth: Each ESA voucher costs Arizona money. Even a basic universal ESA voucher is $424 more than public schools get for each elementary and middle school student, and $540 more for each high schooler. The impact of this loss cannot be overstated: $900 million drained from public education means every one of Arizona’s public schools loses out on $300,000 in desperately needed dollars that will likely result in schools being forced to lay off teachers and slash suddenly unaffordable fixed costs such as broken-down A/C and buses. Supt. Horne says he is perfectly willing even to push for school closures.
❌ The Claim: “Families are fleeing public schools.”
✅ The Truth: Public school enrollment is steady. If universal ESA vouchers were causing students to leave public school en masse, we would expect to see a dramatic drop in enrollment — but the data simply does not back that up. A comparison of Arizona’s 2021-22 public school enrollment with 2022-23 enrollment shows very little change. The vast majority – 92% – of Arizona families choose public schools.
Voucher Watch
While it may have been lost in the coverage of the new astronomical price tag for ESA vouchers, Superintendent Tom Horne made another shocking admission on Wednesday: he is spending taxpayer dollars earmarked for administration of ESA vouchers on advertising the program.
For months, special education ESA parents have rightfully complained about delays in services and reimbursements for therapies. Rather than using the funds appropriated by the legislature to solve these issues, Horne is “making a concerted effort” to target low-income and Spanish-speaking communities, ostensibly to bolster the number of public-school students in the program. When asked how much, Horne refused to answer.
Frankly, it is appalling that this Superintendent of Public Instruction is more focused on driving up ESA voucher applications than he is on supporting public schools or properly running the program he was elected to oversee.
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❌ The Claim: “Parents are the accountability.”
✅ The Truth: No accountability or transparency for taxpayers — or parents. Unlike the detailed accounting for public schools that accounts for every taxpayer dollar down to the last penny, ESA vouchers mean taxpayers have no way to know how their money is being spent, or what (or whether) children are learning. Voucher-funded private schools have no requirements for accreditation, registration, licensing, approval, teacher certification or special education, and are not required to assess or report academic achievement.
Home education spending is similarly lax; as long as an item can be tied to a “curriculum,” which is ill-defined and open to interpretation, it meets the definition of an allowable expense. The ESA voucher program doesn’t require parents to spend these tax dollars on core curriculum. Many parents are using their ESA vouchers for extravagant purchases like laptops, pricey espresso machines, and bounce houses. In February, the Arizona Department of Education boasted that they’d approved over 111,000 expenses in one day with no receipts, which assuming a full 24 hours of work, equals approximately 10 expenses every second. These approved expenditures are not available for public scrutiny.
❌ The Claim: “Arizona will always fund education.”
✅ The Truth: When times get tough, public schools see cuts first. Finding new revenue is a heavy political lift, especially in this toxic hyperpartisan environment: the Arizona Constitution requires a two-thirds supermajority vote from both chambers of the legislature to increase taxes. The only other solution is to cut spending. Last time the state had to come up with $900 million, despite massive public protest, lawmakers slashed funding for our public schools.
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