FACT VS. FICTION
BREAK THROUGH THE NOISE ABOUT PUBLIC EDUCATION
Fiction:
Arizona public school districts waste taxpayer dollars on administration pay, not directly supporting students.
FACT:
On average, public school districts spend only 10% of their budget on administrative costs, placing Arizona below the national average. That means more money reaches classrooms and students.
Fiction:
Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) vouchers save taxpayer money.
FACT:
73% of ESA recipients have never enrolled in public schools. This represents hundreds of millions of dollars worth of brand-new expenses in Arizona’s education budget — subsidized by your taxpayer dollars.
Fiction:
Our ESA program is fiscally responsible, transparent, and accountable.
FACT:
A recent state audit found a significant amount of unallowable purchases through the program, wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. There’s no way of knowing the true error rate, since the current Superintendent and State Treasurer are withholding ESA data from taxpayers.
Fiction:
Throwing money at schools will not fix our problems.
FACT:
Multiple courts within Arizona have found that our State Legislature has failed to adequately fund our schools for decades. Arizona is last in the nation in per-pupil funding. While the issues our schools face are complex, the lack of funding is a major contributor to the problems.
Fiction:
Our teachers are indoctrinating our kids.
FACT:
The current teacher “snitch line,” set in place by the current Superintendent, has been in place for several years and has uncovered no evidence of indoctrination. The majority of the complaints have been satirical, critiquing the current Superintendent. Rather, the phone line has resulted in a chilling effect on our educators, creating a culture of fear over support.
Fiction:
Arizona public school districts waste taxpayer dollars on administration pay, not directly supporting students.
FACT:
On average, public school districts spend only 10% of their budget on administrative costs, placing Arizona below the national average. That means more money reaches classrooms and students.
Fiction:
Arizona’s ESA program promotes school choice and fosters competition to support the best education for our students.
FACT:
Arizona families already have the ability to choose educational programs for their students through open enrollment. The ESA program simply increases costs on taxpayers without accountability or the requirement to assess students. That means we have no way of knowing what ESA schools teach our students, or their academic outcomes.
Fiction:
Our ESA program is fiscally responsible, transparent, and accountable.
FACT:
A recent state audit found a significant amount of unallowable purchases through the program, wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. There’s no way of knowing the true error rate, since the current Superintendent and State Treasurer are withholding ESA data from taxpayers.
Fiction:
Teachers only work for 8 months out of the year, and thus deserve lower annual pay.
FACT:
Arizona starting teacher salary is $46,128, one of the lowest in the country. Arizona teachers are forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet while managing overcrowded classrooms and being expected to do more with less. Our teachers deserve respect that shows up in the paycheck.
Fiction:
Our teachers are indoctrinating our kids.
FACT:
The current teacher “snitch line,” set in place by the current Superintendent, has been in place for several years and has uncovered no evidence of indoctrination. The majority of the complaints have been satirical, critiquing the current Superintendent. Rather, the phone line has resulted in a chilling effect on our educators, creating a culture of fear over support.
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