Arizona
It costs Arizona $332M to pay for vouchers subsidizing private school tuition, homeschooling
A new report from the Grand Canyon Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, shows that the estimated net cost of the universal portion of Arizona’s school voucher program is $332 million in the current fiscal year — a figure that will grow to around $429 million next year.
The Grand Canyon Institute found that the net cost of the recently-expanded universal part of the ESA program is equal to about one-half of the state’s budget deficit in the 2024 fiscal year and about two-thirds of the projected deficit in 2025.
The state is facing an estimated $1.3 billion budget deficit in both those years combined, with pressure on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Republican leaders in the state legislature to work together to balance them before June 30, when the 2024 fiscal year ends.
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The current fiscal year’s budget was crafted assuming that 68,380 students would take advantage of the program, at a cost to the state of $625 million. In January, the Arizona Department of Education boosted its estimates to 74,000 students and a $723.5 million price tag.
But even more students than that are already participating: Through May, more than 75,200 students were enrolled, with a median cost of $7,000 to $8,000 per student.
The Education Department estimates that enrollment will increase even more by the end of the next fiscal year, to around 99,000 total participants, according to a May 31 letter from the agency to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
“Failure to rein in these costs means critical areas of state government expenditures will be cut to balance the budget,” GCI said in a statement about the report.
Public school proponents have staged press conferences at the Capitol in Phoenix two weeks in a row now, calling for the cessation of the costly universal portion of the voucher program or at least a cap on it, but it’s unthinkable that the Republican-led legislature will agree to do so.
Public school advocates say the program takes money away from the district schools that educate 90% of Arizona’s K-12 students and that universal vouchers are essentially a subsidy for wealthy parents who were already sending their children to private schools before vouchers were available to them.
The Empowerment Scholarship Account program, as it’s formally known, works by giving the parents of participating students a debit card that can be used to pay for various educational costs, including private school tuition and homeschooling supplies. The money can even be saved for college. Parents can also be reimbursed for educational purchases through the Class Wallet system.
The voucher scheme was created in 2012 to allow special education students to attend private or parochial schools using state funding. After the Arizona Supreme Court determined that the program did not violate Arizona’s constitutional ban on directing tax dollars to religious entities, the ESA system was later expanded to include other groups like foster kids and those attending failing public schools.
In 2022, legislative Republicans voted to expand access to allow any K-12 student in the state to attend private school or to be homeschooled using public money, even if that student’s parents were already paying for them to attend private school before a voucher was available.
The Grand Canyon Institute found that the gross cost of the ESA program in 2024 — including universal students and those who qualified under the previous program — was around $700 million, with the universal portion making up about $385 million.
The cost of the universal expansion was calculated by first determining how many of the universal voucher recipients wouldn’t have been eligible before the expansion. The researchers found that 54,028 students enrolled in the program in December 2023 were newly eligible, while another 17,492 receiving universal vouchers would have qualified anyway.
The net cost of only the universal students was then determined by using state education data to figure out approximately how many of those students never attended a public school and how many moved from a charter school to a private voucher.
“GCI estimates that 82% of universal ESA recipients never attended a district or charter school,” the report concluded.
ESA vouchers were initially designed to transfer 90% of the cost of educating a student in a traditional public school to the voucher, thus saving the state money. But several years ago, GOP lawmakers changed that formula and now base the vouchers on 90% of what the state pays to charter schools for each student.
Because charter schools aren’t able to tax local property, their per-student payment from the state is substantially higher than for district schools, meaning the cost of school vouchers are markedly higher per student now than when they were first created. The change eliminated the savings of vouchers for nearly all students who use them.
So, the net cost to the state for each voucher student depends on whether the state previously paid for that student’s education and to what extent. Students who never attended public or charter schools are a new cost to the state, while a student who moves from a charter school to a voucher saves the state a modest amount since per-student payments for vouchers are about 90% of what the state pays for a charter student.
The impact on state coffers when a student switches from public school to a private voucher depends on which school that student attended. Schools in areas with high property values, like Scottsdale Unified, don’t receive state aid and are funded primarily by local property taxes. That means that each of the estimated 283 universal ESA students who previously attended Scottsdale Unified schools but entered the voucher program in fiscal year 2024 are a new cost to the state, to the tune of around $2 million, according to GCI.
The Grand Canyon Institute also took transportation costs into account when determining the net cost, since public schools usually provide transportation to students, while voucher students generally have to provide their own transportation.
With all of those factors taken into account, the institute found that the gross cost to Arizona’s general fund for universal voucher students was $385 million, while the net cost was lower, at $332 million.
The report shows that while Republicans who back the program, including Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, say it saves the state money, that isn’t actually the case.
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Friday, May 29, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers
19-24-47-59-65, Mega Ball: 07
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers
2-7-1
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Fantasy 5 numbers
02-08-31-32-40
Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Triple Twist numbers
09-20-23-31-36-40
Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results
What time is the Powerball drawing?
Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?
In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.
How to play the Powerball
To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.
You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.
To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:
- 5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
- 5 white balls = $1 million.
- 4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
- 4 white balls = $100.
- 3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
- 3 white balls = $7.
- 2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
- 1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
- 1 red Powerball = $4.
There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:
Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.
Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The two Republicans running for Arizona attorney general faced each other Thursday in a debate that devolved into insults and name-calling.
State Senate President Warren Petersen is running against military attorney Rodney Glassman in the Republican primary. The debate turned chaotic as the candidates clashed.
“Are you asking the questions, Steve?” Petersen said.
The moderator attempted to regain control. “Gentlemen, we’re going to reset,” he said.
Candidates clash over experience
The debate was the last before early voting begins next month. In between the name-calling, the two candidates argued over their resumes.
Glassman said Petersen does not have the legal experience for the job.
“Warren is just full of information, you can call them lies. He received his law license in December 2023, 28 months ago. He has never filed a lawsuit as a lawyer. He has never prosecuted a criminal as a lawyer,” Glassman said.
Petersen has had a law license for less than three years. He said he worked on cases in Scottsdale while earning his degree. Petersen said his experience as the current state Senate president also counts.
“I have done more in three years than Rodney Glassman will even get done in his life because he’s a trust fund baby who’s just looking for a place. He’s been running for 15 years and he’s lost six elections in a row,” Petersen said.
History of campaigns
Glassman has not won an elected office since he served as a Democrat on the Tucson City Council in 2007. Glassman is an Air Force attorney with 17 years of experience.
Democratic strategist Matt Grodsky said the real winner was the incumbent, Kris Mayes.
“I thought it was entertaining television. I’m glad Arizona got to see up close why these two individuals should be nowhere near the AG’s office,” Grodsky said.
Voting in the primary begins June 24.
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The Arizona man known as the “QAnon Shaman” said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund is an abuse of power by a would-be “king.”
Jacob Angeli-Chansley – the face of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot with his red, white and blue face paint and horned fur headdress – denounced the $1.776 billion program as a “slush fund” for Trump to reward his loyalists.
The Justice Department announced the fund on Monday as part of a settlement with Trump, who had sued the IRS for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns. The settlement included an assurance that the IRS will drop all audits and claims for back taxes against Trump, his family and businesses.
“You think I’m gonna take a f—ing dime from Trump and the government after he’s using this thing to cover him and his family in perpetuity for all of their crimes?” he told Cronkite News by phone. “You think I’m gonna take a dime of that blood money?”
Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people who participated in the Jan. 6 riot the day he returned to the White House in January 2025. Many had been convicted of assaulting police officers.
Cronkite News reached out to 17 of those defendants with Arizona ties. None besides Angeli-Chansley responded.
Thirteen were convicted or pleaded guilty to crimes related to the attack. Four of the cases were dismissed after the pardon. The charges included assault on federal agents, physical violence at the Capitol and seditious conspiracy.
See our previous coverage of the Anti-Weaponization Fund and “QAnon Shaman” in the video player above.
Angeli-Chansley pleaded guilty to a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding. He served 27 months of a 41-month sentence. He was released from federal prison in March 2023.
During the riot, he carried an American flag fastened to a spear and used a bullhorn to call other rioters to the dais in the Senate chamber.
“He stated that ‘Mike Pence is a f—-ing traitor’ and wrote a note on available paper on the dais, stating, ‘It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming,’” according to prosecutors.
At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the compensation fund, saying it will be open to anyone victimized by a politically motivated prosecution, not just Jan. 6 defendants.
“It’s not limited to Republicans. … It’s not limited to the Biden weaponization. It’s not limited to, in any way scope or form, January 6 or to (targets of special counsel) Jack Smith. There’s no limitation on the claims,” Blanche said.
He rejected Democrats’ assertions that the fund is a massive, taxpayer-funded attempt by Trump to whitewash the assault on democracy.
“I think it’s telling that everybody on the left and … the liberal side of the media immediately says it’s a slush fund for President Trump’s friends,” Blanche said. “If anything else, that’s an outright admission that they know that the people that really had this Department of Justice weaponized against them were President Trump and his friends. But … that is not what the AG order that I signed yesterday says.”
Blanche, who served as Trump’s private attorney in several cases – prosecutions over election interference and classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and allegations of hush money paid to an adult actress ahead of the 2016 election – faced strong criticism from Senate Democrats.
“You are acting today like the president’s personal attorney and that’s the whole problem,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who also noted that a huge banner with Trump’s portrait was draped over the front of the Department of Justice building in February.
At a homeland security committee meeting Tuesday, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego called for legislation barring establishment of a fund of the sort proposed by the Trump administration.
He called it outrageous to provide compensation to “traitors who attacked the Capitol.”
“No president, Republican or Democrat, should be able to use the federal treasury as a personal checkbook,” he said.
Angeli-Chansley now refers to himself as the “American Shaman.” He was heavily involved in the QAnon movement, which centered on a conspiracy theory that Trump was fighting a cabal of Satan worshippers who engage in child sex trafficking.
He was a strong MAGA supporter when the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, interrupting congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Angeli-Chansley has since become disenchanted with Trump. He has also repudiated the QAnon movement.
In a rambling phone conversation with Cronkite News, he repeatedly cited Trump’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting federal trial for trafficking young women and girls for sex.
He reiterated his anger with Trump for resisting the release of the Epstein files.
And he criticized Trump for attacking Iran and supporting Israel, among other things.
Angeli-Chansley sued Trump for $40 trillion in September 2025, asserting he is the true leader of the free world and vowing to use the sum to wipe out the national debt. The lawsuit was dismissed. He later filed a lawsuit against the CIA, FBI, World Bank and others in Maricopa County.
He urged fellow Jan. 6ers to “reject that … money.”
If courts allow the fund to operate, Angeli-Chansley said, it would mean that Trump “can do whatever it is that he wants.”
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