By Daniel Stefanksi |
Arizona Senate Republicans are throwing a challenge flag over the state’s Democrat Governor’s shocking recognition of School Choice Week.
On Tuesday, the National School Choice Awareness Foundation announced that Governor Katie Hobbs had “officially proclaimed January 21-27 as Arizona School Choice Week.”
The Foundation expressed thankfulness to Hobbs for her ceremonial action, writing, “Governors play a key role in raising school choice awareness, so we’re grateful to Gov. Hobbs for helping Arizona families explore high quality education options.”
This praise for Hobbs earned a sharp retort from the Arizona Senate Republicans Caucus “X” account. They stated, “This has got to be a JOKE, right? Governor Hobbs has been dead set on dismantling Arizona’s universal school choice program since she entered office. She currently wants to pull nearly 50,000 students out of the program as reflected in her budget proposal.”
Cathi Herrod, one of Arizona’s top advocates for family and school choice issues, echoed the sentiments from the State Republicans, posting, “When you think you can’t be surprised by anything that happens, you see this…from a governor trying to do all she can to dismantle school choice. Unreal.”
Hobbs, perhaps in a show of regret for her published commendation, returned to form on her education position on the same day of the Foundation’s social media post. She shared a clip from her recent State of the State address before the Arizona Legislature, renewing her vow to “address the lack of accountability and transparency in Arizona’s ESA program.”
Arizona Republicans and Democrats enter the second year of a divided state government at odds over the future of the historic Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program. Democrats wanted to reform or end the program in 2023, before Hobbs acquiesced to legislative Republicans in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget compromise, which left these school choice opportunities completely intact. In the aftermath of last year’s budget passage and in her latest State of the State address, Hobbs has redoubled her rhetoric against ESAs as she attempts to rally her base in a pivotal election year for Arizona.
While Democrats have sharpened the political and legislative knives against the ESA program, Arizona Republicans have remained stalwart defenders of all school choice opportunities for families in the Grand Canyon State. Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma have led the charge in the state legislature to counter the governor’s actions and to hold the line for the tens of thousands of boys and girls enrolled in the program.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
