PHOENIX — A 12News review of school districts in Arizona shows at least 30 public schools have been closed or repurposed since 2020. Ten of the 30 have undergone closures this school year, with the majority concentrated in Phoenix suburbs. Four are in southern Arizona.
Read more ‘They lost everything’: RV park partially burns down in brush fire near Wickenburg
District officials point tolow birth rates and private school vouchers as two primary factors causing declines in enrollment.
During an interview with 12News on Friday, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly (D) discussed ways Arizona’s universal private school voucher program is impacting public schools.
“Taking voucher money for private education is a just systemic undermining of public education,” Kelly said. “When we start sucking all government funding, whether it’s state or federal, out of the public school system, you wind up with bigger classes, and you can’t attract teachers.”
The state legislature has chronically underfunded Arizona school districts for two decades. Last year, a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge ruled annual funding levels met the state’s legally mandated formula just one time (2003) since 2001. Public education advocates say the 2023 universal ESA law has added additional strain on districts.
Kelly co-sponsored the Keep Public Funds in Public Schools Act to eliminate a federal private school tax credit passed last year in President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act. It allows individuals to claim a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations up to $1,700 to organizations that fund private K-12 tuition.
Supporters of federal vouchers consider it a major step forward for parental choice, giving families more options catering to their child’s unique needs.
Kelly cites one study warning that the program could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars per year, much more than originally predicted.
“Like Arizona, this is another plan to take what we normally think of as money that should benefit the public and benefit all of us, and instead funnel it to a private education program through vouchers. I’m trying to end that,” Kelly said.
In Arizona, 12News has uncovered lavish misspending of Arizona ESA dollars. Critics point out that there is no mechanism in place to fully assess fraud and mispending rates. A study released earlier this year by State Schools Superintendent Tom Horne, claiming to show a 2% misspending rate, was, in fact, filled with miscategorized expenses.
State Republicans have rebuffed calls for an independent audit of the program.
“They should do an audit of the program. They refuse to because I think they know what the results of the audit would be,” Kelly said.
Read more Opening statements to begin in robbery case connected to murder of Mercedes Vega
12News has also found that most vouchers go to families making more than the median household income. Last year, more than 700 ESA vouchers were spent in one of the state’s wealthiest Paradise Valley zip codes, where an average of one in 10 households had an ESA voucher.
A report from the nonpartisan Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee found the state budget loses funding when a student leaves a district school to take an ESA. The state saves several hundred dollars when a student leaves a charter school to take an ESA. Tens of thousands of students who took ESA’s since 2023 were already in a private education setting, which means they represented a new cost to the state budget as well.
The nonprofit Grand Canyon Institute estimates universal ESA’s will cost the state about $400 million more this year than if the program did not exist. The state faces a budget deficit.
Kelly said his Republican colleagues have not yet shown a willingness to support the repeal. Kelly’s office touts support from more than 150 state and federal education organizations across the country.
“We’re going to continue to work on it, because I, I feel my role is to fight for every kid in our country to get a decent public education,” Kelly said.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere, thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like “Today in AZ” and “12 News” and our daily lifestyle program, “Arizona Midday”—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for “12 News KPNX.”
Amazon Fire TV: Search for “12 News KPNX” to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.
Read more Pinal County attorney seeks death penalty against inmate