The cost of Arizona's new universal school voucher program is $200M — and climbing

By Lauren Gilger
Published: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - 12:19pm
Updated: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - 6:23pm

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The latest numbers are out — and Arizona’s expanded school voucher program will cost the state at least an extra $200 million this year.

Enrollment has risen to nearly 34,000 students, and that is far above what budget officials estimated when Republican lawmakers narrowly voted to open up the so-called empowerment scholarship accounts to students statewide. 

When that law passed last summer, Arizona became the first state to create a universal voucher program. So there was no good model to predict how big the program might get. But now, it’s clear — it is big. 

Mary Jo Pitzl has been covering the latest numbers for the Arizona Republic. She joined The Show to talk about it.

Mary Jo Pitzl
Sky Schaudt/KJZZ
Mary Jo Pitzl in KJZZ's studio in 2018.

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