PHOENIX — On Thursday, Arizona Education Association (AEA) President Marisol Garcia sent a letter to the State Board of Education (SBOE) urging state officials to strengthen oversight and accountability in Arizona’s ESA voucher program amid ongoing turmoil with the taxpayer-funded program.
“Last year, Arizona paid at least $700 million for ESA vouchers – more than ten times the original cost estimate presented to lawmakers. As state budget analysts cut revenue projections by more than half for Fiscal Year 2026, Arizona cannot afford to continue the waste, fraud, and abuse that have become hallmarks of the voucher program,” President Garcia wrote.
“Instead of addressing the billion-dollar hole that vouchers have blown in Arizona’s budget, the 2025-2026 Handbook would worsen this crisis. The revised ESA guidelines will virtually eliminate any semblance of guardrails on state expenditures, allowing individual recipients to spend up to $2,000 with little to no oversight. Under these guidelines, recipients could receive approval to spend taxpayer money on a wide array of inappropriate luxury purchases — from $300 waffle makers to $1,695 top-of-the-line skis,” Garcia continued.
“As educators, our members (who earn considerably less than their peers in other states) are expected to be good stewards of taxpayer resources… AEA urges members of the State Board of Education to uphold the same expectations for Arizona’s ESA voucher program,” Garcia concluded.
SBOE members were originally scheduled to consider a revised voucher handbook for the 2025-2026 school year during a public meeting on April 28, 2025. Shortly after receiving President Garcia’s letter, the SBOE announced that it would postpone consideration of the handbook until June 2025 in response to a request from Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.
President Garcia’s full April 24, 2025 letter to the State Board of Education can be found here.