Arizona’s State Auditor identified more than $700,000 in voucher money that was mis-spent for cosmetics, music, movies, clothing, sports apparel, and other personal items. Some even tried to withdraw cash with their state-issued debit cards. The state has not recovered any of the money. The legislature passed a bill to expand the voucher program, which gives parents a debit card for their e Peres, to every student in the state. Auditing will be even more difficult. Millions will be wasted. And many of the state’s children will go without an education.

On November 6, Arizonans will vote on whether to give a debit card to every parent in the state. If you don’t want universal vouchers, vote NO on Prop 305.

The Arizona Republic reports:


Arizona parents have made fraudulent purchases and misspent more than $700,000 in public money allocated by the state’s school-voucher style program, and state officials have recouped almost none of that money, a new Auditor General report has found.

The findings are the latest blow to a program that Republicans have touted as a model for school choice that has been replicated nationwide, but has faced serious questions about lax financial oversight.

The audit, released Oct. 25, found the state Department of Education, charged with administering and regulating the program, repeatedly failed to flag accounts at high risk for fraud.

That allowed parents whose children were enrolled in the Empowerment Scholarship Account program to make numerous improper purchases on state-issued debit cards, even after the accounts should have been frozen or closed.

The program began as a way to help parents of children with special needs find the educational services best suited to their kids. In 2017, Republicans in the Legislature expanded the program to make all of the state’s 1.1 million public-school students eligible to use tax money for private school tuition.

A grassroots group of parents and public education advocates who oppose the expansion collected tens of thousands of signatures to refer the law to the ballot as Proposition 305…

A “yes” vote on Proposition 305 keeps the newly expanded program in place. A “no” vote rolls back the 2017 expanded law….

The Auditor General found some parents used the ESA cards for transactions at beauty supply retailers, sports apparel shops and computer technical support providers. Auditors also found repeated attempts by some parents to withdraw cash from the cards, which is not allowed and can result in getting kicked off the program.

The audit also concluded education officials did not properly monitor parents’ spending, even after questionable purchases were denied, including on music albums deemed noneducational, Blu-ray movies, cosmetics and a transaction at a seasonal haunted house.