Voucher Program Blows a Giant Hole in Arizona's Budget

Good Day!

We are still well into summer, but there are schools that have been or currently in session. As a student, did you prefer a year-round schedule or the traditional schedule where you get long summers? As an educator, would you agree with our childhood self?

If you have to think about it or you need to revisit your younger self for a little bit, take your time.

Cheers ☕

Arizona’s ESA program

In 2022, under then-Governor Doug Ducey, Arizona's most expansive voucher program in education history was signed into law. It was touted as a program that would save taxpayers money and allow low-income households to tap into funds to enable their children to access better educational opportunities. This would, in turn, close the achievement gap between rich and poor as it empowers them to take their children's education into their own hands. The reality shows something different.

This year, Arizona faced a $1.4 billion shortfall in its budget. The original estimate for the program for 2024 was about $64.5 million, and $125 million for fiscal year 2025. The total cost for fiscal year 2024 is $332 million, and according to the Grand Canyon Institute, it is expected to balloon to $429 million in 2025.

The result of this budget meltdown is affecting funding for critical state programs, which are being slashed. These include:

• $333 million for water infrastructure projects

• $118 million for road projects

• A total of $44.3 million cut across state agencies

• Arizona State University will see a reduction of $10.9 million in funding

Other cuts are also included, totaling $945 million in cuts between fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

In 2021, the graduated tax rate was eliminated, so there is a flat 2.5% tax rate regardless of income. A budget analysis stated that once the flat tax rate was fully implemented, revenue would be reduced by $1 billion.

The Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is having real-world effects on Arizona citizens because it is not doing what it was said it would—saving taxpayer money. Because of this, there are only two things you can do: raise taxes or cut the state budget. With Republicans controlling the state legislature, raising taxes is a non-starter.

Ergo, budget cuts.

The beneficiaries of ESA funds are not low-income households but wealthy families subsidizing "enrichment" programs and "opportunities" that they otherwise could already afford. These include things like ninja warrior training and at-home activity subscriptions like KiwiCo and Genius Box. The funds have also been used for horseback riding lessons and ski lessons. The reality is that no low-income households are signing up their kids for horseback riding lessons or ski lessons.

Many school districts are having to make tough decisions regarding their budgets, from not being able to hire much-needed special education teachers to shutting schools down. I touched on this in a previous newsletter, describing how taxpayer money is leaving public schools and going into the pockets of wealthy families and private schools.

Something will need to give because if the trajectory continues on this path, it should not come as a surprise if more schools or even districts get shut down.

This is a problem not just with Arizona but also with many of the other states that have copied and pasted this model.

Rural town aims to feed kids over the summer

Smithville is a rural town in Texas that is nearly smack dab in the middle of a triangle in some of Texas' bigger cities—San Antonio, Austin, and Houston. The population is only around four thousand.

During summertime, Smithville Independent School District distributed around 25 meals a day to its students as many families struggled to feed their families. Sometimes, it would be as low as ten families. Things changed during the pandemic when Congress allowed school meals to be brought home instead of having to be eaten on-site. Once things settled after the pandemic, more meals were distributed, and the meals are now reaching anywhere from 80-100 families on distribution day, which occurs on Mondays and Thursdays at three different sites.

Thanks to a $20,000 No Kid Hungry Texas grant, Smithville ISD has been able to significantly increase its food distribution, providing much-needed support to many families during these challenging times. Mia Medina, a senior program manager for No Kids Hungry, said, "We often call summer the hungriest time of the year for students because so many students rely on school meals during the school year."

Medina grew up in a small town in western Texas, so she understands the struggles and challenges families face during these times. A lot of families tend to live outside of "town," and driving into town at the designated sites might be a burden and can disrupt families during their working times. Driving, too, can be challenging because that can add gas expenses. Therefore, families can pick up the food they need until the next pick-up date versus coming in every day to eat their meals at designated sites.

The community's appreciation for this program is noticeable. Virginia Rose, a grandmother of two students at Smithville ISD, is grateful for the program's convenience: "When I get home, I'll set it up for my daughter and put it — this is the meal for this day [and] this day…So whoever can just grab it and heat it up and just give it to them and stuff so they can have their little lunch and then take a nap." This sentiment is echoed by many families who benefit from the program.

Many programs like this across the country have been happening, but unfortunately, there are still too many children who go hungry during the summer months and into the school year. Organizations like No Kids Hungry are doing wonderful things with the many families they are reaching. Yet, some elected officials will say it will be too costly to feed every kid at every school in the U.S. An estimate for Universal Free Lunch at U.S. public schools has been estimated to be between $21-$30 billion. With how U.S. taxpayer money has been spent in the past several years, this is a drop in the bucket to ensure our future generation receives a nutritious meal every day so that they can do well in school and be great contributors to society.

The Final Minute

1. Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law that will ban school districts from being required to disclose the sexual orientation of their students to their parents, with a few exceptions. The law will go into effect in January 2025, but the Chino Valley Unified School District has swiftly challenged it. Emily Rae, a lawyer representing the district, stated, "School officials do not have the right to keep secrets from parents, but parents do have a constitutional right to know what their minor children are doing at school."

2. Last week, on July 13, alumni of the Chinese Language School in Portland, Oregon, met at the Chinese Consolidation Benevolent Association Building to celebrate the community's past and present. The school was established in 1901 to help Chinese immigrants remember where they came from. Since then, it has promoted inclusion and welcomes everyone who wants to learn and study the Chinese language and culture.

3. Montana plans to use funds from the Inflation Reduction Act passed two years ago to make schools more efficient. Discussing climate Change in a conservative state like Montana can be a hard pitch for people, but when it comes to making sure students are comfortable in the classrooms by upgrading water boilers or installing solar panels because they can save money, people are on board with this.

4. The largest public school district in North Carolina, Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), officially approved the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair). In part, the policy states: Schools must permit protective, natural, or cultural hairstyles, including but not limited to braids, dreadlocks, locs, twists, tight curls or cornrows, Bantu knots, afros, and other culturally expressive hair ties or headwraps. Students are free to adopt hairstyles of their choice."

Closing Bell

On this day in 1969

Apollo 11 lands on the moon, and Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to walk on the moon. With his forever famous first words, he said, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” He did later admit that what he meant to say was “One small step for a man,” but honestly, the mess up sounds a lot better than what we intended to say. And it is more inclusive when it comes to including all of humanity.