by Elizabeth Troutman | Feb 20, 2024 | Education, News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Former boxing champion Mike Tyson recently launched a middle and high school in Phoenix, Arizona.
Tyson Transformational Technologies Academy is a Cognia Accredited Micro-School in Arizona for grades six to 12.
The world Champion boxer, entertainer, and entrepreneur partnered with the Foundations Academies School System and undefeated MMA fighter Daniel Puder to start the school.
“It’s important to me that I am able to share my life experiences to inspire the next generation,” Tyson said. “This new educational institution will build core values that I am honored and grateful to be part of the Arizona community. I was thrilled to be part of the ribbon cutting ceremony and meeting some of the students.”
The price of tuition is covered through the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) and internal school scholarships.
Since late 2022, all Arizona students have been eligible for an ESA as a K-12 student or as a preschool student with a disability. Families with qualifying students enrolled in the ESA program can use their ESA funds for expenses including educational services, education providers, curriculum, and other educational expenses.
Tyson’s school aims to “redefine learning by combining innovation, financial literacy, mentorship, and community engagement.” The academy will provide quality education and opportunities for personal growth to every youth regardless of their academic challenges, ethnicity, or socio-economic status, the Feb. 15 news release says.
“As a society, we get to build our youths for the next generation,” Puder said. “We are so blessed to have Mike Tyson part of our school system. He inspires our students.”
To enroll their child, parents can contact (480) 448-5181.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jan 20, 2024 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
If any business owner saw 450% growth in one of the company’s products or programs during a 15-month period, they would be ecstatic. And it’s safe to say that whatever that program was doing must be working. But for Governor Katie Hobbs and her allies in the teachers’ unions, who have never been known for their math skills, it’s a completely different story when it comes to the ESA program.
Back in July 2022, when then-Governor Doug Ducey signed universal school choice expansion into Arizona law, 13,400 students were enrolled in the ESA program. That number has now grown—as of January 16, 2024—to an astounding 73,415 students—a near 450% growth. Clearly, the program is in high demand, and it is definitely working. But after signing the Republican budget bill last year, without any cap or restrictions on ESAs, Hobbs is now trying to push a barrage of regulations that would effectively dismantle the popular program…
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jan 6, 2024 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
After several years of inflated budgets propped up by trillions in unsustainable COVID cash flowing to the states from the federal government, Arizona lawmakers will be coming into the new year and the new legislative session facing a potential shortfall for the budget year in excess of $400 million. Naturally, the left and their sycophants in the media have for months been decrying this to be the result of 1) historic tax cuts enacted by Republicans in 2021 and 2) the successful universal expansion of school choice in 2022. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and there are three key facts that need to be remembered when discussing the state budget and a potential funding gap.
1. The Shortfall Is a Fraction of the Arizona Budget, Nothing Like California’s Crisis
The projected $400 million shortfall represents less than 5% of the total state budget, which spends $17.8 billion this year. Far from catastrophic. Compare this to our neighbor California, facing a $68 billion dollar deficit (nearly four times the size of our entire budget), which represents 22% of their $308 billion bloated budget – up from less than $200 billion only four years ago.
Opposite to our approach, California has continuously increased taxes, having one of the highest income tax burdens in the country. They also don’t provide choice to parents and families to make educational decisions themselves. Surely, if Arizona taking less of the people’s hard-earned money and providing ESAs to all families is the cause of our small funding gap, California, doing the exact opposite, should place them in tip top shape, right?
>>> CONTINUE READING >>>
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 3, 2024 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Mere days before the start of the 2024 Arizona legislative session, the state’s Democrat governor is finally telegraphing her primary plan for the months ahead – though her proposal is likely dead on arrival with the Republican-led House and Senate chambers.
On Tuesday, Governor Katie Hobbs issued a press release to reveal “her plan to increase accountability and transparency in the ESA voucher program.” The governor’s plan has eight elements, including “increasing student safety, protecting rights for students with disabilities, requiring accountability for taxpayer dollars, expanding auditor general authority, prohibiting price gouging, raising educational standards, establishing program transparency, reinstating eligibility requirements.”
In a statement, Governor Hobbs said, “The ESA program lacks accountability and transparency. With this plan, we can keep students safe, protect taxpayer dollars, and give parents and students the information they need to make an informed choice about their education. Arizonans deserve to know their money is being spent on educating students, not on handouts to unaccountable schools and unvetted vendors for luxury spending. My plan is simple: every school receiving taxpayer dollars must have basic standards to show they’re keeping our students safe and giving Arizona children the education they deserve.”
Hobbs’ announcement was followed by two volleys from leading Arizona Republicans. House Speaker Ben Toma immediately highlighted his opposition to the governor’s announcement, saying, “Empowerment Scholarship Accounts are wildly popular with Arizona parents because they leverage private sector solutions to offer the best educational opportunities for their children. Meanwhile, Governor Hobbs and Democratic Party legislators now seek to strangle ESAs and private education with bureaucracy and regulation. I won’t allow that to happen.”
The state’s schools chief, Superintendent Tom Horne, also issued his own statement, focusing on the governor’s proposition to mandate “accountability” for user purchases in the ESA program. Horne said, “One proposal stands out because it’s already in place: The governor recommends a manual review of ESA purchases over $500. My office already reviews all expense requests regardless of amount, unlike the previous superintendent who approved many frivolous requests. In 2023, we rejected several thousand ESA applications for lack of adequate documentation and suspended almost 2,200 accounts totaling $21 million because the student was enrolled in a public school. We’ve also rejected more than 12,000 ESA purchase order requests.”
Other legislative Republicans shared their sentiments against Hobbs’ proposals. Senator Jake Hoffman posted the following to his “X” account: “Let’s be very clear… Katie’s half cocked attempt to destroy an invaluable parental choice option via ‘death by a thousand cuts’ is DOA at the Capitol. The Arizona Freedom Caucus will make sure of it.”
Representative Jacqueline Parker added, “Nothing lacks more accountability & transparency than the government school system. ESA’s are an extremely successful & equalizing solution, so of course democrats want to mess it up.”
Arizona’s universal ESA program has long been a significant point of contention between members of the two major political parties in the state, though legislative Republicans scored a huge victory in 2023 when they negotiated a budget compromise with Hobbs that left the historic school choice opportunities completely unscathed. After news of the budget agreement hit the wires, many Democrats and education interest groups levied their disappointment and disapproval over the governor’s inability to extract any concessions with the program. Hobbs spent the rest of the year picking fights with Horne over the stewardship and leadership of ESAs in an attempt to win back political capital, leading to this announcement just ahead of the commencement of the upcoming session.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 3, 2024 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona’s historic universal school choice program has seen significant growth in its first full year of operations.
Last month, the Executive Director for Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, John Ward, sent three emails to give a comprehensive update to families about the state of the program at year’s end. Ward first noted that the ESA program had grown from 13,400 students to 72,500 students over 15 months since the Arizona Legislature approved the expansion and then-Governor Doug Ducey signed the bill into law.
Director Ward also highlighted the economic efficiency of ESA, stating that “ESA parents educate their students for 27 percent less funding than students in traditional public schools.” According to the email from Ward, “State taxpayers currently spend approximately $9,800 per ESA student on average” compared to $13,400 from “federal, state, and local taxpayers to educate students attending traditional public schools on average.” Ward also pushed back on one of the main attacks against the program, sharing a projection from the Department of Education that the “State will end fiscal year with a $57M education budget surplus,” adding that “a surplus is not an indication of bankruptcy.”
In the second email to ESA families, Ward offered helpful tips to ensure that account holders would be compliant with their submissions. Those tips included “reviewing state law and the ESA Parent Handbook to become familiar with program requirements, submitting complete purchase documentation and curricula when required,” and refraining from purchases of unallowable items.
Ward’s final email gave a look at the future of the ESA program. The focus for the ESA program in 2024 would be further enhancements to the ClassWallet platform to improve user experience and to reduce times of approval for purchases and reimbursements. Fixes to the ClassWallet Marketplace are expected to occur first, followed by tweaks to DirectPay, reimbursements, and debit cards.
The new ESA Director inherited the program in a strong position thanks to the work of Superintendent Tom Horne’s first director, Christine Accurso, who did not have that luxury at the start of the year. Accurso, who has been one of the state’s leading pro-life and school choice leaders for years, joined the Horne administration after thwarting a ballot challenge to the universal ESA program. Horne and Accurso were tasked with bringing the expanded program under compliance with the law and eliminating the significant backlog of requests left by the previous administration. She resigned her position in July, expressing her grateful heart “to have had the opportunity to get the ESA program back on track and functioning well.”
As the Arizona Legislature returns to session in a matter of weeks, the ESA program will be under even more scrutiny as Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs and her legislative allies may attempt to gut or trim school choice in the state. Horne, though, has proven to be a relentless defender of the program, as have Republicans in the Legislature. This issue will undoubtedly be one of the top points of contention between the two sides – especially in an election year, when both Democrats and Republicans believe that they can use ESAs and school choice to their political advantage with undecided voters.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
