By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Rob O’Dell | The Republic
One of Arizona’s most influential lobbyists spoke candidly to private school allies last winter about her goals for last year’s expansion of the state’s controversial school voucher-style program.
The program should come with as little student accountability as possible, with schools not required to report their students’ test scores to the state, Cathi Herrod, Center for Arizona Policy president, told those on the conference call. And private schools could get $4,500 per student to expand their schools — or create new campuses, she suggested. Herrod’s frank remarks, captured in a 30-minute recording obtained by The Arizona Republic, were made a day after GOP lawmakers put forward a proposal to make all of the state’s 1.1 million public students eligible to use tax money for private school tuition
