Hobbs and Horne continue to battle over ESA voucher program

The battle continues to brew between Gov. Katie Hobbs and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne over the state's controversial school voucher program.

BY ROXANNE DE LA ROSA

Jan 14, 2025, 5:00 AM

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PHOENIX — The battle continues to brew between Gov. Katie Hobbs and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne over the state’s controversial school voucher program — and it’s far from over.

“Under my leadership, the department has done a full-court press against waste and fraud. I hired both a program auditor and an investigator, which had not been done before,” Horne said in response to Hobbs’ criticism of the program.

“I require that every expenditure be for a valid educational purpose and have been attacked for doing that. The governor needs to pay more attention to what is going on. She gets an ‘F’.

Why does Hobbs criticize the ESA program?

During Hobbs’ State of the State address on Monday she outlined her concerns and said that accountability is missing and is long overdue to the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.

The program allows families, who don’t send their kids to public school, to apply for and receive public state funds to cover education expenses. A new program policy that Horne supports, allows for automatic approval for expenses under $2,000, which Hobbs strongly opposes.

“The current program is unchecked, flawed and rife with exploitation. Three years ago, it went far beyond its original purpose, which was to support kids with special needs and military families. Today, it has ballooned into a billion-dollar boondoggle increasingly scamming Arizonans,” Hobbs said during her annual State of the State address.

“Other entitlements funded by taxpayers have strict oversight and income requirements. Yet, the ESA program has the privilege of virtually no safeguards.”

During her speech, Hobbs said the program costs state taxpayers $1 billion dollars each year. She wants to see more oversight over the program, which has been abused.

Two people from out of state swindled more than $100,000 from the program for children who were nonexistent. Other cases of fraud that Hobbs brought up during her State of the State address were on how ESA funds were used to purchase grand pianos and ski resort passes.

Hobbs’ proposal to fund education

Proposition 123 expires in July and Hobbs would like to see it extended and used to help fund schools.

The plan would raise wages for teachers, help support staff and promote school safety without raising taxes, Hobbs said in a press release.

“Renewing it is essential,” Hobbs said. “If we fail to act, we are throwing away an opportunity to fund teacher pay raises and give Arizona’s children the opportunity they deserve – all without raising taxes on a single Arizonan.”