Arizona public school advocates demand budget solution for school voucher program | #childsafety | #kids | #chldern | #parents | #schoolsafey

On Monday, Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ) delivered a memo to the state’s legislative leadership, governor, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.

The group is demanding a plan to deal with what it calls “massive overspending” on school vouchers.

SOSAZ advocates for public schools in the state and has been strongly opposed to the universal expansion of the school voucher program.

Also known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), those vouchers allow families to use public funds to pay for a student’s private or alternative education.

SOSAZ communications manager Tyler Kowch said by the end of this school year (and fiscal year), the voucher program is on track to cost Arizona $296.6 million more than the Legislature budgeted, meaning the program will be 47.5% over budget. 

“There are no surplus funds left to cover these unbudgeted costs,” Kowch said. “So we need an immediate plan to resolve the overspending and to reign in the program that also has zero accountability, zero oversight and zero transparency.”

As of this week, 67,935 students are enrolled in the program and SOSAZ says that puts it $22,945,005 in the red. According to the ADE’s Q4 2023 ESA Voucher Report, students get an average amount of $9,523. In a press release Monday, SOSAZ wrote: “At the current rate of growth, an additional 737 students are approved to use vouchers each week – the majority of whom are current private school and homeschool students who could previously afford this option and whose education was never before subsidized by public monies.”

Kowch said in addition to the budget issue, the program still lacks transparency.

“Any way that we can bring child safety to the program, academic accountability, financial transparency to how dollars are being spent, we just want all of that to be dealt with,” he said.

KJZZ News reached out to the Arizona Department of Education for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.