by Matthew Holloway | Mar 22, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne released a statement this week regarding the Primavera Online charter school, Arizona’s largest charter school operator. Primavera is facing revocation of its charter from the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools due to low academic results.
Responding to calls for him to intervene, Horne, who holds a seat on the board, stated, “I have no power or influence over that.” In his statement responding to calls to stop the revocation from Attorney Jesse Binnall, who represents Primavera, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, Horne explained that the role of regulating charter schools is divided in Arizona between the Arizona Department of Education and the Board for Charter Schools.
Horne stated, “The legislature chose to divide jurisdiction regarding charter schools between the Arizona Department of Education and the Charter Board. The current issue is within the jurisdiction of the Charter Board. I have no power or influence over that. If I were to try to influence it, the Charter Board would resent the trespass on their turf, and it would do more harm than good. There is likely to be an appeal to an administrative law judge, and the school needs to marshal its evidence to present to the administrative law judge. If I am asked for any data or other information that the department has, I will of course immediately provide it regardless of which side requests it.”
Speaking at a press conference in front of the Capitol, Binnall, who formerly worked on President Donald Trump’s legal team, compared the potential closure of Primavera to lawfare designed to stifle school choice. He said, “The voters of this country have spoken loud and clear … that President Trump’s agenda, which includes school choice, is highly favored by the voters. Instead of getting on board with this policy, you have some people that are trying to use various versions of lawfare … in order to get in the way of school choice.”
“We have to be confident that these people who serve … the people of Arizona are going to do the right thing for the children of Arizona,” he continued. “The right thing for the children of Arizona … is to help organizations like Primavera be more successful, not try to take away school choice.”
Primavera holds a designation as an alternative school owing to its focus on providing an education to at-risk students. In a board meeting on March 4th, Primavera Online founder and CEO Damian Creamer said that the school was incorrectly designated while he was on leave caring for his ailing wife and was graded as if it were a traditional school. Officials from Primavera argued that the school would’ve received a passing “C” grade if it had been properly designated.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Mar 21, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
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.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 26, 2025 | Education, News
By Staff Reporter |
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.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Jan 29, 2025 | Education, News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a recent report, the Common Sense Institute of Arizona (CSI) addressed the gradual slowing of enrollment in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program and traditional public school classrooms. The report shows that despite narratives for one or the other, the decline in both can be explained quite directly as a matter of demographics and parental choice.
In a press release issued Monday, CSI explained, “Headlines about declining enrollment and the subsequent financial struggles this creates in Arizona’s public schools have caught the state’s attention. However, CSI’s data shows this shift was inevitable, driven by dramatic demographic changes and a shift in enrollment preferences during the pandemic.”
Among CSI’s findings, it found that the school-age population of Arizona peaked in 2021 and is projected to decrease by 40,000 by 2028, heavily impacting an educational system which was structurally predicated on the assumption of a continually growing population.
CSI added, “The 2012 kindergarten cohort—the state’s largest ever—is now preparing to graduate. Future K-12 enrollment is not expected to grow in the foreseeable future.”
CSI observed further that during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Arizona’s public schools lost 50,000 enrolled students from 2020-2021. Only 18,000 of those students re-enrolled in charter schools with the remaining approximate 32,000 otherwise unaccounted for. It is likely that this number presents a combination of expanded home schooling, relocation out of Arizona, and even enrollment in private schools. Indeed, the report indicates that private school enrollment spiked by 33% over that period with homeschooling experiencing a surge from 2% of the total student population to 11%, and settling back to 6% as of today.
Glenn Farley, CSI Arizona’s Director of Policy and Research summarized, “Arizona’s classrooms are entering a new era. The numbers have been clear for years: the system built for growth has reached its peak. Moving forward, policymakers must adapt to a smaller, more diverse student population and rethink how we allocate resources.”
The CSI report noted the effect on budgetary considerations has been extreme. “Declining public school enrollments since 2020 reduced public K-12 funding formula costs by an estimated $450 million/year, and growing, compared to pre-pandemic trends. Since last year, the universal ESA program has returned these ‘missing kids’ to the public K-12 rolls – reinvesting prior ‘savings’ into education.”
The ESA, a subject of controversy in the state legislature, has reached a “steady state” according to CSI, with the recent period of rapid growth unlikely to be repeated and future increases owing almost exclusively to parental and student choice.
CSI concluded, “Demographic changes likely mean fewer school-aged children and lower overall enrollment across Arizona’s publicly funded K-12 options over the next ten years. And ultimately it is this demographic change, and pandemic-era changes in parental behavior that are changing K-12 in Arizona – and not-so-much universal ESA itself.”
As previously reported by AZ Free News, Governor Katie Hobbs’ repeated attacks on ESAs have centered primarily on the narrative of the program alternately being “rife with waste, fraud and abuse,” being costly to the state budget, and calling for a repeal of the popular program.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by AZ Free Enterprise Club | Jan 17, 2025 | Opinion
By the Arizona Free Enterprise Club |
With the new year here and the 2025 legislative session officially underway, Democrats are already proving they can’t learn a lesson. Led by Governor Katie Hobbs, one of their primary targets is once again…you guessed it…Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. Stop us if you’ve heard this before.
You would think that Democrats would find a different target after getting trounced in an election where teachers’ unions and other anti-school choice groups made it a referendum on school choice. But no. After 2 ½ years and multiple failures trying to overturn school choice, they’d rather double down on their same tired and out-of-touch policies.
This time, Hobbs and the Dems say they want to roll back ESAs because of all the supposed “fraud” in the program. Never mind the fact that the rate of waste, fraud, and abuse in the ESA program is extremely low. Never mind the fact that ESAs have proven to be far more financially accountable than other government programs. Democrats don’t care about facts. Instead, they want to regulate this popular program while Arizona’s Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes asks for more funding to investigate ESA fraud.
But here’s a message for Hobbs, Mayes, and the rest of the Democrats:
If you care so much about fraud, why not investigate Arizona’s public school districts?
They could start with Isaac Elementary School District (IESD)…
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