10 Dec 19th-Dec 25th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Cash Me If You Can Tom Horne made it easier to cheat the ESA voucher system. BY MORGAN FISCHER A fter a year of mistakes, fraud and more mistakes, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is ending 2024 with another decision that critics say leaves the state’s controversial Empowerment Scholarship Account program vulnerable to misuse. During the Dec. 9 State Board of Education meeting, Horne announced a change to how parents are reimbursed for ESA purchases. Previously, parents submitted their transactions for reim- bursement, after which those submissions would be reviewed for approval, hopefully within 30 days. As the program grew in popularity, so did its reimbursement backlog. Soon, 89,000 transactions from ESA purchases were waiting to be reviewed for reimburse- ment, leading to a roughly 72-day wait time for families. To clear the backlog, Horne is giving blanket approval to all reimbursement requests less than $2,000, regardless of what they may be for. Now, purchases less than this amount will automatically be processed — skipping the review — and put through what the Department of Education called a risk-based audit after parents receive the money. Department spokesperson Doug Nick said the new auditing system will work by identifying “indications in an account’s activity that something was awry,” which would then trigger an audit. The depart- ment said it will cut its reimbursement backlog down to 4,000 requests with this change — the remainder of which Horne said “can be taken care of very quickly.” ‘A terrible idea’ The new process leaves education advo- cates unconvinced and concerned. “It’s a terrible idea,” said Kathy Boltz, a Save Our Schools board member and ESA parent. “I don’t think they’re going to get around to auditing them. As a taxpayer, I’m outraged.” For one, it’s a complete reversal from October, when Horne said the department had to stop automatically approving purchases less than $85 because some families were attempting to use ESA funds to buy Amazon gift cards. According to the department, seven ESA account holders purchased $13,000 in gift cards. The department said its current audit processes caught those abuses, but Boltz is unconvinced that the 84,000 automatically processed reimbursement requests will ever be revisited. She called Horne’s deci- sion “an abdication of responsibility” as it’s the superintendent’s job “to make sure these funds are being spent to educate students and not just on whatever. “If they can’t even get around to reviewing (ESA reimbursements) now, putting it off until later is not going to get it done,” she added. Boltz isn’t alone. In a statement, Arizona School Boards Association communications director Heidi Vega called Horne’s action “definitely a concern” as “every dollar allocated to education must be tracked and monitored to prevent misuse and ensure that public funds are serving their intended purpose — supporting student achievement and public education.” Beth Lewis, the director of Save Our Schools, laid out what that misuse could be. In a statement supplied to Phoenix New Times, she called the new policy a “recipe for disaster” that could result in taxpayer funds being spent on items such as “luxury ski passes, waterpark trips, expensive home appliances and $1800 collectible LEGO sets … with zero approval process.” Ironic timing Not everyone is upset. Jenny Clark, the founder of the school choice organization Love Your School, is excited by the change, which will allow families to finally be reimbursed for ESA-related expenses. Clark, who also is a member of the Arizona State Board of Education, is unconcerned by potential fraud and feels “very confident that the ESA program will see a very low level of misspending.” If misspending does occur, the state plans to recoup that money, if it can. Depending on the situation, the depart- ment would debit the existing account, close it or send it to the state Attorney General’s Office for collection or criminal investigation, Nick said. The timing of the change is particularly ironic, though. Earlier this month, an out- of-state couple was indicted for defrauding the state’s voucher system by submitting applications for dozens of nonexistent “ghost” children, reeling in more than $110,000 in ESA money. And now, with even fewer safeguards in place to protect against fraud, Boltz is unconvinced that grifters will be caught by Horne and his department. “There are no barriers. I know you won’t check, you said you wouldn’t,” she said. “He just keeps messing up.” Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said the Arizona Department of Education will now blanket approve Empowerment Scholarship Account purchases under $2,000. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux) State Board of Education member Jenny Clark (right) said she’s “very confident that the ESA program will see a very low level of misspending.” (Photo by TJ L’Heureux) Save Our Schools Director Beth Lewis said Tom Horne’s plan to blanket approve ESA purchases under $2,000 is a “recipe for disaster.” (Courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr/ CC BY-SA 2.0) | NEWS |
