School Vouchers and Public Schools by Stacy Winstryg

As a parent group advocating for educational reform in Arizona, we have been trying to bring awareness to the fact that capital budgets have been cut by 85% since 2008. The current law states that each child should generate $412 of capital funding each year.  But currently, children in district schools receive $60, which is 15% of what we should be receiving.  Capital funding covers things like new desks, chairs, paper, supplies, books, etc.

In April, our legislators voted to pass ESA’s (Empowerment Scholarship Account or school vouchers) by a narrow margin.  The vouchers were passed under the premise that they would not be a financial drain to the Arizona state budget. They stated they would only fund them at 90% of what the law says each school should be receiving for capital funding, not what is currently being funded. But what this really means is that each child using an ESA will receive 6 times more than your child for capital funding. Why are our kids worthless?

Under the new law, ESA children will receive the following:

• If a child leaves a district school, they will receive $400 for capital funding.
• If a child leaves a charter school, they will receive $1800 for capital funding
• But remember – If a child is in a district school they will receive $60 for capital funding.

How is this fair?

The Vail Parent Network continues to bring awareness to these inequalities and we encourage you to contact your legislators to let them know you want equal funding and treatment for your child. Legislators continue to push ESA’s in the name of school choice.  How about this choice? We choose to send our children to a public school that is adequately funded. We choose the Vail Public Schools!

For more information, email us at vailparentnetwork@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook at Vail Parent Network (VPN) Education Advocacy.  As always, thank you for your support!