On Sunday, Save Our Schools Arizona (SOSAZ) Director Beth Lewis called four Arizona legislators “MAGA extremists,” accusing them of blocking their signature gathering efforts by protesting.
“They are all extremist lawmakers who are Trumpers and MAGA extremists,” said Lewis. “They are out here harassing our volunteers, surrounding 80-year-old women, calling businesses and lying, all to make sure that we don’t get to have signatures by this Friday to stop universal voucher expansion and keep public funding in public schools.”
These protesters are interfering with democracy. Yep, that’s Rep Ben Toma, Senators Warren Petersen, Michelle Ugenti Rita & Wendy Rogers— MAGA extremists trolling @arizona_sos events & harassing pro-public education volunteers 😡😡😡 Sign at https://t.co/M8Q0ZTkPD4pic.twitter.com/9wI07SBZBn
Lewis erroneously called Arizona’s school choice funds “vouchers.” Those types of funds may only be used at private schools. Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program funds may be used for other educational opportunities, such as tutoring, supplemental curriculum, online learning programs or courses, standardized testing fees, and community college.
One of the accused lawmakers, State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) retorted that peaceful protest doesn’t inhibit democratic signature-gathering.
“Expressing our beliefs is the foundation of democracy, not interfering with it,” said Ugenti-Rita. “Instead of name-calling, try using substantive and persuasive facts to sell your perspective. Otherwise, you simply come off as a simpleton.”
Hello, random person on Twitter, you have it all backwards. Expressing our beliefs is the foundation of democracy not interfering with it.
Instead of name calling try using substantive and persuasive facts to sell your perspective. Otherwise you simply come off as a simpleton. https://t.co/I0h3WGozBN
The three other legislators accused of being MAGA extremists were State Senators Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) and Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff), as well as State Representative Ben Toma (R-Peoria).
SOSAZ is attempting to gather enough signatures for their 2024 ballot initiative to overturn Arizona’s universal school choice: “Stop Voucher Expansion.” As AZ Free News reported earlier this month, SOSAZ signature gatherers were giving false information to potential signers.
Lewis didn’t deny that false information was given to signature gatherers. Instead, she took issue that someone had recorded the SOSAZ activists secretly.
Cool flex. @grantbotma entrapped a grandma, lied about your identity, secretly recorded it, and then posted their photo online. You should be ashamed of yourself. When volunteers are pushed and pushed, they're bound to get slightly tripped up. But you know that. smh
Several days after the SOSAZ activists’ remarks were leaked, Lewis issued an opinion piece in the Arizona Mirror to denounce universal school choice. Lewis called school choice a “grift” and “massive cash grab” by private schools, pushing one of the contested claims of her organization’s signature gatherers that the ESA Program lacks oversight.
“Universal vouchers mean the end of public education as we know it in Arizona,” stated Lewis.
“AZ voters have to stop letting extremist Republicans in power continue to set the house on fire in order to claim their insurance money. We have one — and only one — opportunity to stop the privatization of public schools & that’s by signing the #StopVoucherExpansion petition” https://t.co/j5KCnbsgbO
If any lack of oversight exists, that would be because of Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Superintendent Kathy Hoffman. The superintendent is a vocal opponent of the ESA Program and supporter of the SOSAZ ballot initiative. Hoffman graduated from an Oregon private school.
When signing the SOSAZ ballot initiative, Hoffman claimed that the ESA Program she oversees has “zero accountability.”
With nearly $7,000 becoming available for every K-12 student to attend a private school or be homeschooled through the recent expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), the Arizona Department of Education’s website has been overwhelmed with parents seeking to apply.
The credit becomes available on Sept. 24 but the number of parents applying in advance has created issues for the Department of Education’s website. An advisory posted to the website this week noted “high volume” may cause users to receive an error message when trying to establish an account.
On Saturday, Ducey took to Twitter as word spread about the tremendous interest.
Parents are laying on the pressure! They want options and are excited about Arizona’s universal education savings accounts. https://t.co/aa10cKAufp
The ESA expansion legislation sponsored by Rep. Ben Toma provides families of all 1.1 million of Arizona’s K-12 students the option of allocating 90 percent of state funding which would have been allocated to the student’s district or charter school and have it be available for private school tuition, home-schooling, tutoring, and other educational needs such as transportation, textbooks, and computers.
Among the permitted expenditures for homeschoolers is the cost of specialized teachers for subjects such as foreign language, art, and music.
Homeschoolers can and do apply to this already. Originally it was only for people in D rated school zones. Now anyone who wants to homeschool can pull their tax dollars and use on curriculum and tutors and mentors etc. I know, I am a paid music teacher for a few families.
Ducey presided over a Aug. 17 ceremonial signing of HB2853. He later said making ESAs available to all of Arizona’s K-12 students was putting “the power back in the hands of parents, who are best suited to make decisions for their children’s education.”
Jenny Clark, founder of Love Your School, attended last week’s ceremony (Ducey actually signed HB2853 on July 7). Clark says Arizona’s ESA program can be life-changing for Arizona’s students.
“My five children have benefitted from ESAs and I can’t help but think how many kids don’t get the help they need,” Clark said. “Now, they will. Every child in Arizona will have the same opportunities and ability to get the education tailored to their needs.”
Corey A. DeAngelis of the Federation for Children was one of the stakeholders involved in ensuring passage of HB2853, calling it “a national model” that empowers parents. He too used Twitter to comment on what the high demand on the ADE website means.
“This is why the government school monopoly fights so hard against giving families a choice,” DeAngelis wrote. “They’re terrified. They know parents want alternatives.”
A pep rally type celebration was held Tuesday to help promote expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for all K-12 students in Arizona.
“Today, we celebrate the signing of the most expansive school choice legislation in recent memory,” Ducey said during a ceremonial signing of House Bill 2853 which provides about $7,000 in education credits for every Arizona student to attend the K-12 public, private or charter school of their choice.
“Arizona is now the gold standard for educational freedom,” the governor said.
Arizona’s kids now have more educational opportunities than ever before — and now, the sky’s the limit for their exciting futures ahead. pic.twitter.com/yf0DFMScZ7
The expansion of ESAs under HB2853 was sponsored by House Majority Leader Ben Toma (R-Peoria) with the support of the Goldwater Institute. ESAs are paid out as scholarships for families to use for tuition and tutoring expenses as well as transportation, textbooks, computers, and other costs related to supporting a student’s educational needs.
Our kids will no longer be stuck in under-performing schools. We’re unlocking their educational potential and advancing a bold new era of learning opportunities. pic.twitter.com/HsJJd7F1oG
ESAs served roughly 100 Arizona students back in 2011. Last year that number was 11,000. But with HB2853 now in effect, all 1.1 million students at the K-12 level.
“This reform empowers parents weary of a one-size-fits-all approach to public education to customize their children’s schooling based on their unique needs,” Goldwater Institute President and CEO Victor Riches said when the law took effect. Riches added that Arizona families “deserve the right to choose the best education option for their children, regardless of zip code.”
“States around the nation should follow Arizona’s lead and pass legislation that funds students, not systems,” he said.
Reactions to Tuesday’s signing ceremony event were very positive.
AZ Free News sampled 46 legislators’ latest campaign finance reports of the state legislature and found that 22 of 47 legislators sampled received 50 percent or more of their campaign contributions from either lobbyists or PACs.
PACs and lobbyists have significant footing in the legislature. That would explain why the first week of January is known as “hell week” within the legislature — not because they’re in preparation for the new session kicking off, but because lobbyists are scrambling to fundraise for legislators. Arizona law prohibits legislators from receiving lobbyist campaign contributions while in regular session.
The following are state legislators that receive 50 percent or more of their campaign funds from PACs and lobbyists combined:
In the House, Richard Andrade (D-Glendale), about 51 percent; Ben Toma (R-Peoria), about 56 percent; Lorenzo Sierra (D-Avondale), about 62 percent; Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix), about 64 percent; John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), about 64 percent; Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa), about 64 percent; Diego Espinoza (D-Tolleson), about 66 percent; Joanne Osborne (R-Goodyear), about 74 percent; David Cook (R-Globe), about 75 percent; Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix), about 79 percent; John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction), about 83 percent; Tim Dunn (R-Yuma), about 87 percent; and Kelli Butler (D-Paradise Valley), about 96 percent.
In the Senate, Vince Leach (R-Tucson), about 53 percent; T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge), about 56 percent; David Gowan (R-Sierra Vista), about 71 percent; Rosanna Gabaldon (D-Sahuarita), about 73 percent; Lupe Contreras (D-Avondale), about 75 percent; Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu City), about 79 percent; Tyler Pace (R-Mesa), about 82 percent; Sine Kerr (R-Buckeye), about 90 percent; and David Livingston (R-Peoria), about 91 percent.
Of note, all of Gowan’s 32 contributions came from outside of his district — 28 came from Maricopa County. Additionally, $5,000 of Gowan’s $8,950 non-lobbyist contributions came from Phoenix Coyotes owner Alex Merulo.
Butler received over $10,000 from the Tucson branch of one of the largest labor unions in the country: the United Food and Commercial Workers (UCFW). Her PAC contributions totaled $13,000, and $150 of her individual contributions were from lobbyists. There were several inactive lobbyist donors among the individual contributions totaling $250. In all, Butler’s total contributions were over $13,700.
Wilmeth’s ten non-lobbyist donors included three inactive lobbyists and one wife of an inactive lobbyist.
Five legislators sampled reportedly received less than 10 percent of funds from PACs and lobbyists: Morgan Abraham, about 4 percent; Quang Nguyen, about 7 percent; Judy Burges, about 7 percent; Amish Shah, about 7 percent; and Joseph Chaplik, about 8 percent.
There were several legislators sampled that we couldn’t review because their reports haven’t been filed yet — even though they were due well over two months ago.
State Representative Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) still hasn’t filed her campaign finance report due April 15. Hernandez has been late consistently since her first year in office (2018), accruing $3,500 in fines altogether. Her latest campaign finance report, which she has yet to file, is 76 days late and she owed $1,675 currently — her highest single fine to date. It took Hernandez 69 extra days to file her 2021 cumulative finance report: it was due January 15, but she filed it March 25.
Just over half of Hernandez’s individual donors from her last report, the cumulative one for 2021, were from out of state and made up the majority of those contributions: $5,980 versus the $3,920 from Arizona. Among them were several prominent figures in the Jewish community including acclaimed author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s son, Elisha Wiesel, as well as Broadway star Jonah Platt.
State Senator Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D-Tucson) did file her report on time — but like Hernandez, over half of the individual contributors on her latest campaign finance report were from out of state.
It appears that the Hernandez siblings are alike when it comes to campaign finance reports. Since the year his sister took office, Hernandez grew increasingly tardy with filing the reports. For two separate 2020 reports, he accrued over $5,100 in fines. His 2021 cumulative report was filed late by 67 days, and he was fined $1,450 for that. Both the Hernandez siblings are 76 days late on their first quarter report.
Another perennially tardy filer is State Representative César Chávez (D-Maryvale). Like Hernandez, he is 76 dates late and owes $1,675, but for his senate campaign’s first quarter report. Chávez was also late by 58 days to file his senate campaign’s 2021 cumulative report, owing $1,225.
Similarly to Hernandez, Chávez has a history of late filings, the highest of which were 121 days late to file his 2020 pre-general election filing, 163 days late to file his 2016 pre-general election report, and 953 days late to file his 2016 first report for the fourth quarter and post-general election report.
One interesting campaign finance report came from State Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff). The report totaled nearly 600 pages, with 586 dedicated to individual contributions alone that totaled nearly $360,000. No lobbyists could be discerned among the over 7,000 contributors, and over 1,600 of them were Arizonans. A vast majority were retired, nearly 4,500 of them, bolstered by the self-employed and small business owners.
Only one PAC donated to Rogers: the Save America PAC gave one contribution of $5,000 in January.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Arizona House approved a universal expansion of the state’s school choice program on Wednesday afternoon. It now heads to the Senate for review.
The legislation, HB2853 by State Representative Ben Toma (R-Peoria), prompted protracted arguments that delayed the vote for about an hour. House Republicans managed to overcome Tuesday’s budget disputes to rally the majority to pass the bill, 31-26 along party lines. Anti-school choice activists in the gallery shouted “Shame!” repeatedly as the vote totals were read, adding to their general disruption and commentary presented throughout the hour-long debate on HB2853.
Democrats asserted that public schools weren’t fully funded, insinuating that was why they fell short in the eyes of Republicans and what they claimed was a minority of Arizona parents. They insisted that universal school choice through the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program contradicted the will of a majority of Arizona voters.
Republicans argued that school choice should be the option for all students, regardless of income or zip code. They repeated the idea that parents were the ultimate accountability for student success and outcomes, not government.
As the final vote and argument presented, Toma argued that Democrats’ logic meant that voters couldn’t ever possibly change their mind on the subject of school choice, which he insisted wasn’t true. Toma insisted that dollars should follow the students and not be the ownership of individual systems.
Toma wondered why private schools should be the exclusive domain of the wealthy, citing back to committee testimony from Drew Anderson — a South Phoenix pastor, Democrat, and beneficiary of school choice, which lifted him out of the squalor of public schools and onto a path resulting in his becoming an NFL player and consequently enabling him to lift his entire family out of poverty.
“This is giving everyone the opportunity to make full use of all their choices,” said Toma.
AZ Free News summarized the highlights of the partisan floor arguments for and against HB2853.
Democrat Arguments Against Universal School Choice:
State Representative Kelli Butler (D-Paradise Valley) characterized the bill repeatedly as “disrespecting the will of voters,” which earned reprimanding from Speaker Pro Tempore Travis Grantham (R-Gilbert). Butler doubted that beneficiaries of the ESA Program were using their funds to “learn anything,” claiming that there wasn’t proper oversight of beneficiary schools’ curriculum.
“They could be learning the most basic things and using our tax dollars,” said Butler.
State Representative Lorenzo Sierra (D-Avondale) said that public schools provided a far superior education, pointing out that 19 out of 20 Flinn Scholars went to public schools.
Sierra also predicted there would be regulations on this bill, speculating that a group of liberals would launch a school built around the 1619 Project, and that the legislature would then attempt to regulate private schools if that happened.
State Representative Judy Schwiebert (D-Phoenix) said that a vast majority of families choose a public district for their children because of their accountability and presence of school boards, calling public school curriculum “well-rounded, publicly vetted, [and] diverse.”
Ultimately, Schwiebert insisted that not all children deserved school choice.
“Technically I know we’re giving it to parents, but let’s be real about it, we’re funneling it to private schools,” said Schwiebert.
State Representative Mitzi Epstein (D-Chandler) said that school choice expansion at this scale would greatly increase cost of administration, and called parents’ access to taxpayer dollars to individualize their children’s education “inefficient.”
State Representative Andrés Cano (D-Tucson) asked his Republican colleagues to submit personal financial disclosures about their benefit to school choice.
State Representative Sarah Liguori complained that the ESA Program was corrupted because some of her wealthier “mom friends” used program funds toward their children’s education. Ligouri said that those individuals should pay for private schooling themselves.
House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding (D-Laveen) claimed that “millionaires and billionaires” would receive a check to subsidize their child’s private schooling. He claimed that private schools wouldn’t return ESA program money even if the family couldn’t cover the rest of the tuition, and that public schools would have to “pick up the slack.”
State Representative Melody Hernandez (D-Tempe) said that expanding the ESA Program would actually trap low-income families in failing schools, many of whom she said were minorities. She called the bill “immoral,” and claimed that Republicans were targeting people like her by expanding a system of oppression.
Republican Arguments For Universal School Choice:
State Representative Lupe Diaz (R-Hereford) insisted that Democrats’ arguments about the harm of school choice couldn’t be true based on the longevity and successes of school choice in Arizona’s history.
“If this program causes so much heartache and blows up public schools, then it wouldn’t have the longevity it has now,” asserted Diaz.
State Representative Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix) said she would’ve loved to have school choice options like this growing up, and asserted that it was a good thing that children could use ESA dollars for college education as well.
“Why should we wait until higher education to allow taxpayers to utilize these public dollars for their [children’s] education?” said Bolick.
State Representative John Fillmore (R-Apache Junction) reminded the floor that K-12 spending eats up almost half of general fund money, yet Democrats argued it wasn’t enough. Fillmore also read Arizona Department of Education (ADE) data revealing the low passage rates for children in standardized testing.
“The fact of the matter is, the schools have failed us. Parents are taking their kids out because they see this failure,” said Fillmore.
State Representative Joanne Osborne (R-Goodyear) said that every generation of her family dating back to the late 1890s graduated from Arizona’s public school systems, and that her daughter is a current public school teacher, but that those factors didn’t outweigh her care for children’s needs.
Osborne characterized HB2853 as a win for all Arizona schoolchildren, and asserted that a majority of Arizona parents want school choice. Her remark prompted commentary from the gallery.
Hopefully this time you can control yourselves and not yell in committee hearings and make a spectacle of yourselves. Such behavior is an embarrassment to my profession as a teacher. https://t.co/fQfhq0bFcv
— Paul "nothing but trouble" Boyer (@PaulDBoyer) June 22, 2022
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
