Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego attacked Arizona’s school choice programming in an attempt to sway Governor Katie Hobbs against an Arizona Diamondbacks funding bill.
In a letter submitted to Hobbs on Tuesday, Gallego expressed opposition over the bill to fund the Arizona Diamondbacks facility renovation, HB2704. The legislation dedicates Chase Field sales and employee income taxes to the renovation.
HB2704 has passed the House with bipartisan support and awaits Senate approval.
Gallego argued the legislation was a “boondoggle” for failing to accurately capture the fiscal impact. Gallego said the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) model underestimated the predicted cost to taxpayers derived from the city’s actual tax collection data by nearly half, equating the underestimation to the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Program.
“Just like the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account Program or the infamous Alt-Fuels bill, there is not a high-end cap on this bill to act as a safeguard for taxpayers,” said Gallego. “I urge that you work with the Legislature to demand responsible and enforceable parameters for the amount of taxpayer dollars spent on an annual and aggregate basis.”
The JLBC model estimated a $471 million cost over 30 years, sans fiscal impact data input from the Department of Revenue. Per Gallego, the city of Phoenix estimated an $825 million cost over 30 years.
“After accounting for lost construction sales tax revenue, additional revenues that can follow a significant renovation to a major league sports facility, and inflation over 30 years, the bill in its current form will certainly cost more than $1 billion in public funds,” said Gallego.
Last month, Gallego also spoke out against HB2704 publicly. Gallego expressed opposition to the diversion of millions of funds that would have gone to the city otherwise.
“Two-thirds of Phoenix’s general fund supports public safety. Phoenix’s tax dollars are best spent supporting our firefighters who respond to emergencies, helping police fight crime, and combating homelessness — not used to pay for subsidies for those at the very top,” said Gallego.
Recently ousted Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE) member and ESA Program advocate Jenny Clark advised Gallego to dedicate her efforts to improving the city’s budget rather than criticizing the budgeting of another program.
“Maybe Mayor Gallego should focus on her own MASSIVE failures with the city of Phoenix budget, instead of taking cheap shots at Arizona families using the widely popular ESA program,” said Clark.
Clark questioned why Gallego’s critique of increased funding for school choice, given the mayor attended an out-of-state private school in her youth.
The city of Phoenix narrowly avoided a reported $39 million budget deficit by the 2026 fiscal year by passing on the cost to taxpayers. The city previously announced an $85 million annual loss following the state legislature’s elimination of the residential rental tax and the implementation of the flat income tax.
On Tuesday, Gallego and the Phoenix City Council voted to increase the sales tax rate from 2.3 percent to 2.8 percent to avoid making cuts to city programs and services. The increase takes effect on July 1. Only Councilman Jim Waring voted against the sales tax increase.
The Goldwater Institute sued the city over the proposed tax increase earlier this month.
In a letter submitted to Gallego and the council, the public policy institute alleged this latest tax increase to be unconstitutional.
The Goldwater Institute also sued the city last year over allegedly illegal tax breaks for developers.
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A majority of the Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE) members are serving on expired terms. Governor Katie Hobbs’ office has yet to replace them, but now she’s targeting one member in particular with an historically strong advocacy for school choice.
Board members serve a four-year term under gubernatorial appointment with State Senate consent.
Six of the 11 members on the board are serving on expired terms. The board also has one vacancy, making it six of 10 existing members to be serving on expired terms.
The terms for Jason Catanese and Vice President Dr. Scott Hagerman expired last January. The terms for President Katherine Haley, Jenny Clark, Dr. Daniel Corr, and Julia Meyerson expired last month.
It appears that Clark and her expired term came on Hobbs’ radar with the signing of the Phoenix Declaration: An American Vision for Education from the conservative think tank, Heritage Foundation, last week during its Conservative Vision of Education Conference in Phoenix. The declaration advocates for school choice, curriculum transparency, ideology-free classrooms, Western and Judeo-Christian education, character-based learning models, merit-based academic standards, and a greater emphasis on civics education.
10 educational and public interest groups, along with over 50 scholars and education policy experts, signed onto the declaration. Clark signed on with the organization she founded, Love Your School.
Following this development, Hobbs’ office called on Clark to resign last Wednesday. When Clark refused, Hobbs’ staff allegedly advised of a letter to arrive last Friday confirming Clark’s term ending. Clark claimed she had received no such letter as of Monday.
“Honestly, I’m surprised @GovernorHobbs didn’t remove me when she took office (which was fully within her abilities as Governor). Clearly, the 9th floor has been struggling the last couple of years!” said Clark. “I’ve enjoyed advocating for all students (including Arizona ESA families) while on the board, and I know the current board has a significant task ahead with the absolute CRISIS in math and reading AZ public schools are facing with the latest NAEP scores. I look forward to seeing the timely, aggressive, and student-centered approach they will take regarding this crisis.”
One of Hobbs’ main campaign promises was to eradicate the universality of the school choice program implemented by her predecessor, Republican Doug Ducey, in 2022.
Over the course of her two-year-long fight with the Republican-controlled legislature, Hobbs scaled back her original goal of undoing the universality of the state’s school choice model.
This year, Hobbs is vying for a budget proposal slashing funds to the states Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) Program. Hobbs proposed graduated income limits, with a restriction to household incomes at or above $200,000.
House Speaker Steve Montenegro indicated in statements to the press that this budget was a nonstarter for Republicans.
“While we share a commitment to improving the lives of Arizonans, the Governor’s budget proposal as presented raises concerns about parental choice, fiscal responsibility, public safety, economic growth, and the undue burdens it places on the backs of taxpayers,” said Montenegro.
Nearly 86,500 students have entered the ESA Program as of Monday.
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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.”
The Arizona State Board of Education (SBE) will have a bunch of new faces at its next meeting following Monday’s announcement by Gov. Doug Ducey of seven new members.
Created within the Arizona Constitution, the mission of the 11 member board is to develop successful citizens through robust public education. The SBE oversees the public school system by establishing policies, setting courses of study, and gathering data on pupil performance.
The new members chosen by the governor are:
Jason Catanese, analgebra and geometry teacher at Pueblo Del Sol Elementary School in the Isaac School District who is a former national teacher of the year for Teach For America. He is also chairman, co-founder, and executive director of the Camp Catanese Foundation.
Jenny Clark, the founder and CEO of the non-profitLove Your School which helps families navigate school options, whether in a district, charter, private, online, homeschool, microschool, or learning pod setting.
Jacqui Clay, the electedCochise County superintendent of schools who has worked as a teacher, assistant principal, and director of career technical education.. She also spent 25 years serving in the U. S. Army.
Dr. Scott Hagerman, superintendent of the Tanque Verde School District and Continental Elementary School District. His experience includes past positions with Tucson Unified School District, along with work as a principal and classroom teacher.
Katherine Haley, whose nearly 20 years of experience in public policy and philanthropy has involved expanding educational opportunities by building coalitions to advance federal policies which improve school choice and strengthen students’ workforce readiness.
Julia Meyerson, the founder and executive director of Vista College Prep charter schools in Maricopa County. A Phoenix native, Meyerson joined Teach For America after college and served as an educator in Brooklyn, New York.
Karla Phillips-Krivickas, the founder and CEO ofThink Inclusion who has more than 20 years of experience in state and federal policy. She uses her experience to advise education leaders on sound policy and best practices to advance academic achievement for students, including those with disabilities.
The outgoing members are Janice Mak and Calvin Baker, whose terms had expired back in January 2020; Lucas Narducci, Michelle Kaye, and Patricia Welborn, whose terms ran only to January 2021; and Jill Broussard and Armando Ruiz, whose terms expired in January 2022.
“Arizona is grateful to the outgoing members for their service and commitment to students’ success, and for their steady hand in guiding our educational institutions during the pandemic,” Ducey said with the announcement. “Our new board members have big shoes to fill, but I am confident that with their new energy, fresh ideas and diverse backgrounds, we will be able to continue strengthening education for our students.”
The new SBE members will join Christine Burton (January 2023) and Dr. Robert Robbins (January 2024) and as well as Kathy Hoffman who is a member due to her position as the state’s elected Superintendent of Public Instruction. Also carrying over for now is Dr. Daniel Coor as the community college representative, whose term expired in January 2021.
Ducey’s announcement included two community members for the Arizona Board of Regents, which is the governing body for the state’s three public universities: Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.
One of the new Regents is Gregg Brewster, a senior sales executive of Brewster HealthCare Consulting who has expertise in health care, supply chain management and transportation. According to the governor’s office, Brewster is a member of the AORN Foundation Board of Directors, as well as an active participant on the Arizona State University Alumni Board.
The other new Regent is Doug Goodyear, CEO and a founding partner of DCI Group, a public affairs firm with offices in Arizona and Washington, D.C. The company has grown into of the country’s largest independently-owned public affairs firms. Goodyear has been active in the Phoenix chapter of the Young Presidents’ Organization.
The outgoing Regents are William Ridenour and Ronald Shoopman.
