Report Shows Over Half of Voucher Spending New Expense to State

Phoenix, AZ– Today, a new memo was released showing Arizona’s school voucher program could cost the state over $943 million, with over 53% of all new K-12 education spending going towards only 8% of Arizona students. Governor Katie Hobbs released the following statement in response:

“The universal school voucher program is unsustainable. Unaccountable school vouchers do not save taxpayer money, and they do not provide a better education for Arizona students. We must bring transparency and accountability to this program to ensure school vouchers don’t bankrupt our state. I’m committed to reforming universal vouchers to protect taxpayer money and give all Arizona students the education they deserve.”

The memo shows the below key findings:

• The universal voucher program may cost taxpayers up to $943,795,600 annually, resulting in a potential $319,795,600 General Fund shortfall in FY 2024.
• The ESA voucher program increases costs to the General Fund. More than 50% of ESA voucher funding represents a newly incurred cost to the State due to new applicants that were previously enrolled in private school, homeschooling, or were attending non-state aid schools prior to transferring.
• ADE has failed to respond to the Governor’s Office requests for additional information and background on their methodology and breakdown of current enrollment numbers.
• Spending on ESA vouchers could account for 53.25% of all new K-12 education spending in the FY 2024 budget going towards only 8% of Arizona students.

READ THE MEMO ATTACHED BELOW.