Global Courant 2023-05-11 21:25:00
A $17 billion budget package was finally approved Wednesday after negotiations between Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled legislature. Democrats criticize the new budget for not restricting an expansion of a school voucher program. allows students to use state money for private schools could undermine Arizona’s public schools.
A $17 billion budget package that Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs negotiated with leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature and was approved Wednesday is drawing criticism from Democrats for failing to place limits on an expansion of a school voucher program that they say it is a drain on the treasury.
The Democratic governor took office in January with plans to reverse the massive explosion in the voucher program championed by her GOP predecessor, Governor Doug Ducey, which allows students to apply to use public money for private school tuition and other education costs.
Hobbs’ office had said the expansion diverted money from underfunded public schools and would cost $1.5 billion over the next decade.
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The governor wasn’t proposing to do away with all vouchers, but she wanted to get the voucher program back to what it was before Ducey expanded it to every child in the state — when disabled kids, students living on Native American reservations, students attending poor performing public schools and others were eligible for voucher funds.
Despite her criticism of the expanded vouchers, the budget proposals negotiated by Hobbs contained no limits on the expansion.
Despite the budget criticism, some Democratic lawmakers still voted in favor of parts of the package, touting the $300 million increase in funding for primary and secondary schools and another $150 million for a fund that helps low-income people , an eviction prevention program and temporary housing.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Senate approved the budget package, with support from some Democratic lawmakers. The package will be sent to Hobbs for consideration.
In a statement, Hobbs said she looked forward to signing the package and was “grateful legislative leaders able to put aside their differences, compromise and support a bipartisan deal”.
Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs delivers a speech at the State Capitol in Phoenix on January 9, 2023. On Wednesday, the Arizona legislature approved a $17 billion budget package that was being negotiated by Hobbs and the state’s Republican legislative leaders. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Democratic Representative Cesar Aguilar of Phoenix said the legislature passed a budget prepared by Republicans, not Democrats.
“I’ve seen budgets in the past when we had Republican governors,” Aguilar said. “It’s always been given to the Democrats at the last minute. These days, many of us Democrats have helped Governor Hobbs get elected, and personally I thought maybe this year wouldn’t be much different. But that’s not the case. Democrats seem to be in the same boat as if we had a Republican governor.”
During the debate on the House floor, most Democratic lawmakers shy away from directly criticizing Hobbs, instead expressing dissatisfaction with the budget’s lack of action on the voucher expansion. They unsuccessfully tried to block applications for new registrations until the end of May 2024.
Nearly 12,000 students participated in the program before it expanded. Currently, more than 55,000 students are following the program. The average scholarship amount is now around $10,000 per student.
At a press conference Monday, Hobbs was asked about the budget’s lack of action to curtail the program.
“I think we can agree that the voucher program is a drain on resources that should be directed to public education,” Hobbs said. “But I didn’t say I was going to end it. It’s definitely a goal.”
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Supporters of the voucher extension say it allows parents to choose the best schools for their children.
Like other Republicans, Rep. Mesa’s Justin Heap that public education was undermined by the voucher expansion and that the state would go bankrupt.
Heap said criticism of the voucher program is actually an attack on students and their families who depend on the vouchers. “They have the guts to take their kids out of a government school and put them in a better program,” Heap said.
Arizona now has the most comprehensive private school voucher law in the country. It allows parents of the more than 1.2 million school-aged children to use 90% of the state money that would normally go to their local public school towards private or other school costs.
The voucher system began in 2011 with a small program applicable only to disabled children, who can receive up to $40,000 a year for specialized therapy. The Republican-controlled legislature has repeatedly expanded it over the past decade.
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Before the universal expansion went into effect, it also included students living on American Indian reservations, attending low-performing public schools, and several other groups.
In a statement, Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, a union representing teachers, said she was pleased that the budget included the one-time $300 million contribution to K-12 public schools and other funding for schools.
But Garcia expressed frustration with the lack of limits on the voucher program.
“The extremist majority in our state legislature has ignored the will of Arizona voters and pushed through policies that fund private schools for the wealthy at the expense of the public schools attended by 90% of Arizona’s children,” it said. Garcia.
On Wednesday, leaders in the Arizona House announced the creation of a special committee to investigate vouchers. The members of the panel include Democratic and Republican legislators, Hobbs and state superintendent of public education Tom Horne.
