Debate over vouchers remains important
When political action generates heat, politicians are supposed to pull on their oven mitts and act like big boys and girls. That isn’t what happened in the Arizona Legislature after people bristled at a vote to expand vouchers, aka the Empowerment Scholarship Account program.
Instead, House Speaker J.D. Mesnard tried to limit the protests that continued long after the vote. That’s not the way you run a government by the people.
A few caveats: Sure, the vote on vouchers was over. And, yes, what was going on was political theater.
But it was not, as some opponents of the discontent insisted, time to move on.
This is about how Arizona spends money on public education, and the topic is very much alive as the Legislature works on the budget.
Those still sputtering with rage over the decision by GOP lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey to expand the program that diverts money from public schools to pay for private-school tuition have every right to make their feelings known.
And they were doing so with the help of Democratic lawmakers.
According to reporting by The Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl, there has been a steady stream of statements and protests following the vote to expand vouchers.
Democratic lawmakers used their open forum time to read testimonials from constituents who showed up to stand in the gallery. It tried the patience of GOP lawmakers.
Mesnard moved the lawmakers openforum time for comments to the end of the session. That makes it tough for the public to be there because there is no set ending time.
Democratic lawmakers shifted tactics and began reading these statements from constituents when they stood to explain their votes on bills that were unrelated to education.
Mesnard then threatened to end the rule that lets lawmakers explain their votes.
Rep. Eddie Farnsworth called the testimonials about vouchers and school funding “ridiculous.”
It’s more ridiculous when grown-up lawmakers who hold the power can’t weather a storm of criticism they should have expected.
The voucher issue has been controversial since its creation in 2011, and the public’s discomfort was heightened by a few inconvenient facts:
Although touted as a way to let economically disadvantaged students escape failing schools, research by The Republic found that the existing program was being used to remove students from good schools in affluent areas, according to an analysis by The Republic’s Rob O'Dell and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez.
A review by the state Auditor General that found more than $102,000 in voucher funds had been misspent during the sixmonth period from August 2015 to January 2016, and that oversight and accountability of the program were insufficient.
Nevertheless, Republican lawmakers with the enthusiastic support of Gov. Doug Ducey pushed through an expansion of vouchers over the protests of parents, teachers and advocates of public education.
They scaled back the expansion and put caps on the number of students who could participate. They also directed the state to work with a financial-management company to oversee a reporting program.
But the big news is that they expanded a program that diverts public funding into private schools at a time when public schools are hurting — and troubling questions remain about how well vouchers are working.
Lawmakers who tout the benefits of “school choice” have not done their duty to adequately fund the choice of most Arizona parents: traditional K-12 public schools.
People are increasingly ready to speak out on behalf of the public school system.
“I don’t think they are used to parents coming in, informed,” Anne Ellsworth told Pitzl. “I don’t think they know what to do with us.”
To his credit, Mesnard did meet with Ellsworth and three other parents.
But trying to silence protests on the House floor was wrong. Elected officials need to be willing to take the heat for votes people don’t like. They are not rulers. They are public servants.
That includes listening to fellow lawmakers who are expressing views their constituents want to share.