Arizona governor proposes overhauling school vouchers to address growing budget deficit

PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has proposed requiring students to attend public school for 100 days before becoming eligible for a voucher program in a move designed to rein in the skyrocketing costs and reduce the number of participants.

The proposal is a key feature of a budget her office unveiled Friday as the state faces financial challenges. A new forecast from the Legislature’s budget analysts shows a growing deficit from from $400 million to $835 million this year, and from $450 million to $879 million next year. The state faces plummeting revenues from a massive tax cut that took full effect last year and increased expenditures from the school voucher program expansion.

Beyond curtailing the program, the governor wants state agencies to return unspent money, to delay state construction projects and to cut more than $400 million in transportation projects the Legislature previously approved.

Doing away next year with school tuition organizations that funnel tax credits to students for private school tuition could be another money-saving measure, to the tune of $185 million, Hobbs’ office estimated.

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Some proposals by Hobbs, particularly her plan to rein in the voucher program and repeal the school tuition organizations, are considered non-starters among the Republican-majority Legislature.

Still, Hobbs spokesperson Christian Slater defended the proposals as necessary for bringing accountability to taxpayers.

“They want to see their money used wisely,” Slater said. “So we think that this is something that we’re going to put forward, and we’re really hoping that this is something we can get passed” by the Legislature.

Sen. John Kavanagh, a Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the ideas floated by the governor are either a negotiating strategy or “red meat to her base before she gets down to serious discussions at the Legislature.”

“If it’s a starting point, it’s too extreme — and it’s alienating a lot of Republicans,” Kavanagh said.

The voucher program lets parents use public money for private-school tuition and other education costs. It started in 2011 as a small program for disabled children but repeatedly was expanded over the next decade until all students became eligible in 2022. More than 73,000 students currently participate in the program. Critics say the expansion is a drain on the state’s coffers and is subsidizing private school tuition, while backers say the expansion lets parents choose the best school for their children.

Hobbs’ office says the program would cost $822 million and have an additional 9,400 students next year if it’s not overhauled. Her office estimates the changes she wants to implement would reduce costs by $244 million next year.

The program shouldn’t be funding things like ski resort passes, pianos and other luxury items, she has said.

The governor is proposing that students who receive the vouchers, beginning next year, first attend a public school for 100 days to remain eligible for the program. Hobbs’ office doesn’t anticipate all private school students who receive the vouchers would fulfill the requirement, thus ending their vouchers.

Hobbs vowed to bring accountability to the program when she began her term a year ago as the first Democratic governor since 2009. Despite her criticism, the budget proposals negotiated by Hobbs last year didn’t include any caps on the expansion, leading Democratic lawmakers to express dissatisfaction with the lack of action.

Kavanagh said Republican lawmakers will not agree to Hobbs’ proposed 100-day requirement.

“Hopefully, we will begin serious negotiations behind the scene and broker something that both sides can agree to,” he said.