School Vouchers Were Supposed to Save Taxpayer Money. Instead They Blew a Massive Hole in Arizona’s Budget.

In 2022 , Arizona pioneered the largest school voucher program in the history of education.

Under a new law, any parent in the state, no matter how affluent, could get a taxpayer-funded voucher worth up to tens of thousands of dollars to spend on private school tuition, extracurricular programs or homeschooling supplies.

The state this year faced a $1.4 billion budget shortfall, much of which was a result of the new voucher spending.

Arizona 's universal voucher program allows parents to spend public money on private school tuition.

Voucher proponents have long pointed out that private school parents have a right to and could be sending their children to public school at taxpayers’ expense.

A spokesperson for Arizona ’s former Gov. Doug Ducey said that the net cost of universal vouchers has been far higher than supporters originally promised.

Arizona doesn't have a comprehensive tally of how many private schoolers and homeschoolers are out there.

Only a small amount of the new spending on private schools is going toward poor children.

The state is 49th in the country in per-pupil public school funding, and district schools in lower-income areas are plagued by some of the nation's worst staffing ratios.