Democrat Katie Hobbs took the helm as governor of Arizona earlier this month. Her passionate priority is to repeal the expansion of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which grants educational options to the children of all Arizona families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would seem perplexing why a newly elected official\u2019s top priority, when working on the state\u2019s budget, would be to dismantle a popular program that provides significant cost savings to her state. Perplexing unless you understand the power politics in play \u2014 namely, teachers unions\u2019 funding of Democratic candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearly, for Ms. Hobbs it\u2019s about kowtowing to the teachers unions\u2019 agenda rather than serving the families of Arizona \u2014 it was, after all, the union endorsements and funding that got her elected in an extremely tight contest. With K-12 public education being the largest employer in the state, and teachers almost exclusively voting for union-endorsed candidates, the political influence of teachers unions is immense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going back to before the election, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Arizona endorsed Ms. Hobbs in April 2022. AFT Arizona President Ralph Quintana touted<\/a>, \u201cJust as Katie has done throughout her career in public service, we know she will continue to fight for quality education and resources that every student, teacher, and family in Arizona deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was more than a little irony, however, in his talking points. Just a few months later, Ms. Hobbs was the leader of an effort to collect signatures to overturn the 2022 landmark universal school choice win that would grant flexibility to obtain quality education and resources for all Arizona families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The universal school choice victory resulted from Arizona legislators\u2019 passing HB 2853 during the 2022 session and then sending the bill to Governor Doug Ducey, which he signed into law on July 7. As a result, the ESA program was now accessible to all of the more than 1.1 million students in Arizona \u2014 granting educational freedom to all families by providing parents with a portion of their student\u2019s state funds to select the educational avenue of their choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On July 7, Governor Ducey sent Ms. Hobbs, the Arizona Secretary of State at the time, a letter outlining the bill. The letter reads<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, I proudly signed H.B. 2853\u2026.The State of Arizona trusts parents to choose what works best to unlock their student\u2019s greatest potential. Public education means educating the public<\/em>, and in Arizona, government-run schools are only one of many options the public has access to. Whether they select their neighborhood district school, open enroll at a district school across town, choose a public charter school, homeschool, form a learning pod, or\u2026attend a private school \u2014 the choice is theirs to make, not the government\u2019s.<\/p>\nGovernor Doug Ducey<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Ms. Hobbs\u2019 hostile response at the time was to attempt to employ Arizona\u2019s veto referendum to stop the law from taking effect. Her effort failed miserably \u2014 Ms. Hobbs and her allies simply couldn\u2019t obtain enough valid signatures (the law required 5% of the signatures from the most recent gubernatorial election turnout within 90 days of the law\u2019s enactment to place the measure on the general election ballot). The people of Arizona made it clear \u2014 they want school choice for the families of their state. This is where the number problems started for Ms. Hobbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arizona Governor Hobbs wants more taxpayer money pumped into public schools while dismissing the enormous cost-saving benefits of ESAs.<\/p>Keri D. Ingraham<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Undeterred, as Governor and with the 2023 legislative session underway, Ms. Hobbs is doubling down on her position to undo Arizona\u2019s educational freedom. Her proposed budget would reverse the expansion of ESAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Hobbs said in her inaugural State of the State Address<\/a>, \u201cTo Arizona\u2019s educators, parents, and students: You know better than anyone that education must be a top issue we tackle.\u201d The you know better than anyone <\/em>phrase was to coax these groups into agreeing that her education agenda should be a top issue. She was signaling for their blind buy-in. This statement and her ESA repeal efforts are a stark contrast from the reality that parents know better than anyone what education avenue is right for their child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her rhetoric continued, \u201cI have spent so much of my public life fighting for better schools\u2026and that\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ll continue to do as governor.\u201d However, she hasn\u2019t and isn\u2019t fighting for better schools. She\u2019s working to ensure students are trapped in their assigned government schools despite the school\u2019s performance and despite parental desire to select a better alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Invoking a fear strategy, Ms. Hobbs claims that Arizona\u2019s expanded ESA \u201clacks accountability and will likely bankrupt this state.\u201d She insists that the law will cost taxpayers \u201can estimated $1.5 billion over the next 10 years.\u201d Misleadingly, Ms. Hobbs only talks about the cost of the ESA program while intentionally failing to mention the massive cost savings to the state, which is ultimately borne by the taxpayers. Instead of upwards of $12,000 spent per student, families opting to apply for an ESA would only receive $7,000. Thus, families exiting the public system will lower expenses for the state and increase per-pupil funding for traditional public schools. Ms. Hobbs\u2019 numbers don\u2019t add up. She is gaslighting the people of Arizona by employing fear tactics and false rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her own words, Ms. Hobbs says her proposed budget \u201ctruly invests in public schools.\u201d To be clear, by public schools, she doesn\u2019t mean schools that serve the public but instead the government-run monster monopoly controlled by the teachers unions to whom she owes allegiance for her political victory of becoming governor. She wants more taxpayer money pumped into public schools while dismissing the enormous cost-saving benefits of ESAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With both the House and Senate holding Republican majorities, Ms. Hobbs will be hard-pressed to get her wishes. She simply doesn\u2019t have the numbers. According to Jason Bedrick and Corey DeAngelis<\/a>, leaders of both of Arizona\u2019s legislative chambers \u201chave pronounced the governor\u2019s budget dead on arrival.\u201d This is yet another, and likely the most significant, numbers problem for Ms. Hobbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n