Voucher critics say the program is on track to blow up the state budget, but Republicans say there is nothing wrong
GLORIA REBECCA GOMEZ
Arizona Mirror
Enrollment in Arizona’s school voucher program has officially surpassed the number accounted for in the state budget, reigniting the quarrel among Republican lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs over the program’s financial viability.
The budget passed earlier this year set aside $624 million to fund demand from what lawmakers projected to be a maximum of 68,380 students. (That estimate was widely criticized by voucher opponents for exceeding the student body of Mesa Unified, the state’s largest public school district.) But that estimate has been outstripped just three months into the fiscal year, and stands at 68,455 as of Oct. 10.
Reacting to the update, Hobbs issued a scathing criticism of the program, known formally as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, warning that the ballooning costs are likely to cut into other state-funded initiatives.
“The school voucher program is unaccountable and unsustainable. It does not save taxpayers money, and it does not provide a better education for Arizona students,” she said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter. “The runaway spending threatens funding for state troopers fighting drug trafficking, social workers protecting Arizona’s most vulnerable children, and doctors caring for Veterans who sacrificed their health to protect our country.”
