PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is investigating alleged spending violations in Arizona’s hotly debated private school voucher program, beginning what could be new broad-based scrutiny of the $800 million program.
The AG’s Government Accountability Unit sent a letter on July 1 to state education officials alleging misspent tax funds within the private voucher program and requesting detailed records of ESA purchases in a range of categories dating back to 2020.
“This seems to be a good thing,” said Kathy Boltz, an ESA parent since 2017 who has called for more oversight of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. “It’s become a pretty abusive program where parents, for example, can use A.I. to write curriculums justifying all kinds of purchases.”
Department of Education agrees to comply
The AG’s office alleges the Arizona Department of Education’s handbook for parents gives bad advice because it allows them to use ESA funds to purchase “supplementary materials” without proof those materials are recommended by curriculums.
In response to the letter, Associate Superintendent John Ward wrote on July 3 that the department will respond within two months to a list of data requests. Ward also sent an announcement to ESA families.
“Effective immediately, ESA holders must submit a curriculum with all supplemental materials requested or purchased,” Ward wrote.
The “supplemental materials” category has come under intense scrutiny; kayaks, espresso machines, Broadway tickets, bookshelves, snow ski passes and high-end Lego sets are a few of the allowed ESA purchases that have outraged public school advocates.
“It’s our tax dollars we’re spending, and we rely on government leaders to make sure it’s spent right,” Boltz said.
Toma alleges investigation is “political”
Republican leaders have insisted that parents, particularly those who home-school their children or whose children are enrolled in micro-schools, must have wide latitude over what they purchase for their child’s unique needs.
Their posture on the issue creates an upside-down political scenario: Conservatives, typically the ones demanding stricter accountability of government subsidies, are decrying even the slightest suggestions for more oversight of the ESA program, alleging “harassment” of taxpayers. Meanwhile, Democrats are hollering about uncontrolled spending and a lack of checks on the program.
Senate Education Chair Ken Bennett (R) was an exception, told 12News earlier this year that spending several hundred dollars or more for one Lego set is “head-scratching”.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Ben Toma (R) called Mayes’ announcement political, “unsolicited legal advice,” and a micromanaging of the program.
“It appears that the Attorney General’s Office is advancing an argument that documentation is required for most ESA-related expenses. The legislative record does not support such an overly restrictive view,” Toma wrote in a letter to ADE.
AG: There is no way to ensure students are using materials
Ward noted in his letter to the AG that the practice of allowing parents to purchase supplemental materials “without curricula” began in “the prior administration.” Ward said he would work with the state board of education to change the parental handbook.
The Government Accountability Unit also alleges in its letter to the ADE that the department lacks a method to prove some ESA purchases are “appropriate… for grade level” and actually “being studied by the student.”
“The Arizona Department of Education will review its practices and procedures to ensure compliance with the Solicitor General’s directives,” Ward wrote.
ESA Facebook accounts show hot dog oven, Christian concert purchases
Boltz monitors ESA Facebook Groups where parents give advice and compare notes about how to spend ESA funds.
Boltz provided 12News screenshots showing one parent who said they got approval to buy tickets to a “Songs of the Bible” worship conference. Another parent posted a curriculum online for a $70 Oscar Mayer hot dog and bun toaster oven, posting a written “curriculum” about the history of hot dogs as a documented justification for the purchase. Another parent posted an announcement of a $550 sleepaway horsemanship summer camp that advertised it as “ESA approved.”
“People constantly state on these social media posts they buy a curricular workbook for an educational purpose, and then spend the rest of the funds on extracurricular activities or the kayak, martial arts, horseback riding lessons, Sea World,” Boltz said. “We don’t even know if their kids are filling out the workbook.”
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