Southwest
One state’s budget dispels big lie about school choice
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
For years, opponents of school choice have been predicting that Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts policy would “bankrupt” the state. Instead, as the state’s education budget surplus demonstrates, school choice has reduced costs.
This won’t surprise Arizonans who have become accustomed to the empty scaremongering from Chicken Littles claiming that school choice would make the sky fall. But then again, they aren’t the target audience for this pernicious propaganda. Conservative lawmakers in other states are.
Over the past three years, Republican lawmakers in a dozen states have made all or nearly all K–12 students eligible for school choice. More red states, most notably Texas, appear ready to join them. To halt this progress, opponents of school choice have settled on a message intended to give conservatives pause: that school choice supposedly is a budget buster.
SCHOOL CHOICE BEING CELEBRATED IN FLORIDA AS TEACHERS UNIONS OPPOSE POLICY
“The universal school voucher program is unsustainable,” Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, claimed last summer, arguing that the program needed to be curtailed lest it “bankrupt our state.” Her proposed budget would have rolled back ESA eligibility, kicking out nearly 50,000 students.
The battle over school choice is taking a dramatic turn because Arizona shows it’s more affordable than scaremongers claimed. (iStock)
School choice opponents in other states have echoed Hobbs’s scaremongering. Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, chair of the Texas House Democrats, claimed this year that Arizona’s ESA supposedly created a “nearly $1B[illion] problem of skyrocketing costs.”
Kentucky Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman recently warned voters considering a school choice ballot proposition, Amendment 2, that ESAs supposedly blew a “massive hole” in Arizona’s state budget. School choice advocates have heard legislators in several states express skittishness about the potential fiscal effects of expanding school choice.
Fortunately, Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature knows better. The typical ESA student receives about $7,500 annually from Arizona taxpayers, compared to the more than $12,000 per pupil that Arizonans give public schools through their state and local taxes alone.
Even looking only at state dollars, the ESA program typically costs taxpayers hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars less per child than the public school system. As students shift from public schools to ESAs, the state saves money.
In the first two years since ESAs went universal under then-Gov. Doug Ducey, Arizona enjoyed a massive overall state budget surplus one year, and a net savings in its state education funding formula (which includes ESAs) compared to what it budgeted the second. After lengthy budget negotiations this year, the ESA program’s universal eligibility emerged unscathed.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
ProPublica and the Grand Canyon Institute claimed that the ESAs were the main culprit for the $1.4 billion deficit Arizona faced this past year. However, not only has this deficit been eliminated, but the latest education budget figures tell a very different story.
According to Arizona’s nonpartisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the ESA program cost $92 million more than had been forecasted this past year. However, the surge in enrollment to more than 72,000 ESA students coincided with a reduction in public school enrollment that has reduced costs by $93 million below forecasts.
By the end of the 2023-24 school year, 62 percent of new ESA students had switched from a public school in the prior year. When factoring in shifts in student enrollment among the public district, public charter and ESA sectors, the JLBC estimated last month a net savings of more than $350,000 relative to the enacted budget for fiscal year 2024.
Fortunately, Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature knows better. The typical ESA student receives about $7,500 annually from Arizona taxpayers, compared to the more than $12,000 per pupil that Arizonans give public schools through their state and local taxes alone.
Moreover, these are conservative estimates. As the Goldwater Institute observed, the JLBC analysis reviewed only the basic state aid formula, and “did not address millions in additional ESA savings from all other sources” of state, local and federal funding.
On August 26, the Arizona Department of Education released its revised budget figures for the fiscal year, showing a surplus of $4.3 million.
The sky isn’t falling. Any budget woes Arizona faced this year were despite — not because of — the state’s school choice policy. Lawmakers considering school choice policies in other states would do well to ignore the Chicken Littles.
Corey DeAngelis is a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He is the author of “The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools“
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY COREY DEANGELIS
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE BY JASON BEDRICK
Read the full article from Here
Los Angeles, Ca
Pasadena motorist knocked unconscious in unprovoked assault after other driver flashes high beams at him
A motorist was rendered unconscious after what authorities are calling an unprovoked attack that occurred after another driver flashed their high beams at him, authorities say.
According to the Pasadena Police Department, the victim, a 63-year-old man, was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue near Washington Boulevard when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction flashed him around 1 a.m. Saturday.
“The victim reported that he was driving northbound on Raymond Avenue from Washington Boulevard when he observed a vehicle traveling southbound flashing its high beams at him,” a Pasadena Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. “The victim stated he stopped his vehicle and exited. He was then assaulted by an unknown suspect. The assault was unprovoked.”
The attack left the man unconscious and with a three-inch deep laceration to his head, police added. Upon regaining consciousness, the man transported himself to Huntington Hospital, and it was around 1:20 a.m. when police responded there to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon and began their investigation.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the victim told police that, due to his injuries, he was not able to provide a description of a suspect, vehicle or the weapon used, nor was he able to tell police the exact location where the assault occurred, although it was confirmed to be somewhere near Raymond Avenue and Washington Boulevard. La Pintoresca Park is located near that intersection.
No further details were immediately available.
Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to contact the Pasadena Police Department right away.
Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
Los Angeles, Ca
Woman killed by driver while crossing PCH in Long Beach
A woman was struck and killed by a driver while crossing the street on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.
On June 3, the female pedestrian was using the crosswalk at Pacific Coast Highway and Pacific Avenue around 4:50 a.m.
She had walked against a red light and was hit by a 19-year-old driver in a Chevy sedan, Long Beach police said.
Despite lifesaving efforts, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver remained at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
“At this time, impaired driving, distracted driving and excessive speed are not believed to be a factor in this collision,” police said.
The woman’s name is being withheld pending identification by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information on the incident is asked to call Detective Joseph Johnson at 562-570-7355.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
Los Angeles, Ca
Man wanted for deadly Los Angeles road rage shooting extradited from Mexico
A man wanted for a deadly road rage shooting in Los Angeles was arrested and extradited from Mexico after fleeing the U.S. in 2024.
The suspect was identified as Christian Rojas, 21, of Bellflower, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Authorities had been searching for him since the deadly incident on October 10, 2024.
Rojas and a second suspect, Joshua Rojas Sr., 47, of Downey, were driving on the northbound 5 Freeway in Boyle Heights around 4 p.m. when they became involved in an altercation with another driver that escalated into a shooting.
Video of the tense confrontation showed the suspects, who were driving a Dodge Durango SUV, opening fire on two men in a Cadillac sedan.
The shooting forced the victim to pull over abruptly. That’s when a suspect ran up to the Cadillac, opened the passenger-side door and fired several shots at close range.
In a panic, the Cadillac driver tried to escape by making a sudden U-turn and driving against oncoming traffic. He eventually crashed head-on into several vehicles.
The suspects ditched their SUV and fled toward a freeway exit on foot. The Cadillac driver was left with serious injuries and his passenger was killed. Their identities were not released.
The incident caused a miles-long backup that left thousands of motorists stranded on the freeway for hours and authorities worked to clear the scene.
Following an extensive investigation, detectives identified the two men as the suspects involved.
Joshua Rojas Sr. was arrested in San Bernardino on October 22, 2024, on a murder charge. He remains in custody awaiting trial.
Meanwhile, Christian Rojas had fled the U.S. and was hiding in Mexico, detectives said. A $4.3 million bail warrant was issued for his arrest.
“Through a coordinated international effort, investigators determined that Rojas was living in Palomo de Arriba, Mexico,” CHP officials said. “The U.S. Marshals Service worked with Mexican state police to locate and arrest him on the outstanding warrant.”
On June 2, 2026, Christian was arrested and extradited to the U.S. to face a murder charge.
“This arrest demonstrates that time and distance will not shield violent offenders from justice,” said CHP Southern Division Chief Chris Margaris. “For nearly two years, our detectives remained relentless in their pursuit of those responsible for this senseless act of violence. Through exceptional collaboration with the United States Marshals Service and our law enforcement partners in Mexico, we located and apprehended this suspect and brought him back to face the charges. We remain committed to protecting the public, supporting victims and their families, and holding violent criminals accountable wherever they may try to hide.”
-
Atlanta, GA2 minutes agoAtlanta Hawks, Kaiser Permanente Host Second Annual Men of Color Health Summit
-
Minneapolis, MN5 minutes agoPrince event signals Minneapolis’ first step to economic recovery
-
Indianapolis, IN10 minutes ago‘100 Deadliest Days’: Summer months bring spike in teen fatal crashes
-
Pittsburg, PA17 minutes agoBest of Design 2026: Best Renovated Kitchen | Pittsburgh Magazine
-
Augusta, GA20 minutes agoRichmond Co. Coroner: Cane Corso attacks, kills Augusta infant
-
Washington, D.C25 minutes agoStorm Team4 Forecast: Sunny, muggy conditions for Sunday
-
Cleveland, OH32 minutes ago19 First Alert Weather Day: Severe storms ongoing
-
Austin, TX35 minutes agoNo. 6 Texas blasts No. 11 Oregon, 11-3, to open Austin Super Regional





