School-choice advocates are up in arms over Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs' cancellation of a $50 million grant, made by former Gov. Greg Ducey, that would have funded all-day kindergarten for students in private schools under the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.
Hobbs said the grant violated the guidelines set by the American Rescue Plan Act for COVID relief funding, 12 News reports.
“Katie is wrong,” Abe Hamadeh, who lost the attorney general election to Kris Mayes in the last election, tweeted. “Kris Mayes and Katie Hobbs are targeting minority children who are trying to escape failing schools. They are lawless and heartless.”
An Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is an account administered by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and funded by state tax dollars to provide grants to students who attend private schools.
ESA started as a program targeted to failing schools but was changed to eligibility for all students beginning in 2022.
“Illegally giving $50 million to private schools while failing to properly invest in public education is just one egregious example of the previous administration’s blatant disregard for public school students,” Hobbs said in announcing that she was rescinding the grant. “I will always fight to protect our public schools and work to give every Arizona student the education they deserve. Today, we averted a violation of federal law and the State Constitution. In my administration, we are committed to deploying federal funds lawfully and equitably.”
Hobbs said Ducey authorized the $50 million grant to the state treasurer, Kimberly Yee, a Republican, in the final hours of his administration. Yee called Hobbs' action rescinding the grant "politically driven" and "belligerent," 12 News reported. “It is clear Governor Hobbs does not care about what is best for Arizona kids or respect the rights of parents to determine the best environment to educate their child," Yee said in a statement.
Hobbs' action has been widely criticized by advocates for school choice in Arizona, the Arizona Daily Independent said.
Hobbs' statement was “Classless and defamatory,” JP Twist, a former worker for Ducey, said in a tweet. “The only accountability Hobbs cares about is to education bureaucrats and teachers’ unions. This is a slap in the face to AZ parents. We pay the taxes; we should get to pick the school.”
The announcement is not the first time Hobbs has recalled federal funds Ducey allocated at the end of his term, 12 News said.
In February, Hobbs recalled $210 million in ARPA grants because the money was allegedly given out without a competitive bidding process.
A spokesperson for Ducey did not immediately have a response to Hobbs' statement.
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