by Matt Kopec,
Amphitheatre Public School Governing Board Member
LD18 Precinct Committeeperson 57
Originally published in Tucson Sentinel June 28, 2025
Reprinted with permission
The Republicans in Arizona’s Legislature likes to accuse public school districts of “fraud, waste and abuse.” Typically they do so with no actual evidence of the same, or they cite a rare anecdote to make their broad brushstroke of accusation against all school districts.
Meanwhile, they continue to ignore or actively engage in recurring abuses and waste of their own. Two of the greatest and ongoing examples of this are the outdated weighted education funding formulas for Arizona schools and the absolute debacle that is their so-called “Empowerment Scholarship Accounts” or private school voucher program.
For decades, the funding system for public schools has used formulas that use funding multipliers or weights based upon assumptions that are derived from student population trends.
One such assumption is that certain disabilities are consistently experienced in any student population, leading to an automatic funding multiplier to provide schools with the extra funds needed to address those with disabilities. The problem with that antiquated approach is that not all schools actually have students with disabilities that mirror population trends. Some of our state’s charter schools, for example, do not have the number (or any for that matter) of students with the disabilities at issue, but those schools still get the weighted funds.
Giving schools funds they don’t need and don’t deserve: isn’t that the very definition of waste?
That actual waste has gone on for years — with no action by the Republicans to address it. That seems rather curious, given their nearly constant pearl-clutching over supposed misspent education funding.
I guess it all comes down to who is committing the waste and fraud. When it’s them or their sacred golden calf of charter schools committing the fraud and waste, heads go deep in the sand. Nothing to see here, folks, if you look the other way.
And then there’s the private school voucher scam — a waste of colossal proportion that continues to grow unabated; indeed, actually facilitated by the supposed champions of fiscal conservatism and accountability.
Recently, our state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne wrote school district superintendents to let them know not to expect their funding for the month of June, or at least not all of it. It seems the Arizona Department of Education has run out of money.
Where did the money go, I wonder? Somebody concerned with fraud, waste and abuse of public funds should really look into that!
Let me save them the time and effort. The state coffers have run dry because the private school vouchers, which the Republicans said would only cost our state $360 million, will actually cost about $1 billion. With that level of overspending, you would think strands of pearls would be bursting all over the state capitol. But, once again, it all depends on who is committing the scam, doesn’t it? Heads in the sand doesn’t quite cover this one. More like their head up their asses on this one.
And here’s the icing on the cake of their calamitous making: private school voucher payments won’t be delayed at all.
Vouchers get paid first, leaving just our public schools with the empty cupboards.
So that means without their promised and expected funding for the month of June, school districts may have to borrow funds from banks to make up for the missing $200 million until whenever the Legislature gets around to providing additional funding to make up for the deficiency resulting from their — say it isn’t so — overspending, which is another word for “waste” should any of the Republicans need translation.
So, private school voucher recipients need not worry. The $5,000 Rolex that might be needed to teach a kid how to tell time, the Jet Skis needed for physical education, or the family vacations for “educational purposes” (all expenses that have actually been claimed as vouchers that should be paid by taxpayers) can still go on unfettered, while school districts borrow and pay interest to pay their electric bills and keep students in summer school.
Gov. Katie Hobbs has repeatedly told the Legislature that the voucher program must be reigned in or it will place the state’s education funding (really all funding) in peril. I guess it’s not only pretty hard to see the truth, but also to hear it, when you keep your head up your ass. Way to go, “lawmakers”, way to go!
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