Rapidly expanding school voucher programs pinch state budgets

By Kevin Hardy Stateline org In submitting her updated budget proposal in March Arizona Gov Katie Hobbs lamented the rising costs of the state s school vouchers activity that directs constituents dollars to pay private school tuition Characterizing vouchers as an entitlement initiative Hobbs declared the state could spend more than billion subsidizing private schooling in the upcoming fiscal year The Democratic governor reported those expenses could crowd out other budget priorities including disability programs and pay raises for firefighters and state troopers It s a dilemma that specific budget experts fear will become more common nationwide as the costs of school choice measures mount across the states reaching billions of dollars each year School vouchers are increasingly eating up state budgets in a way that I don t think is sustainable long term stated Whitney Tucker director of state fiscal program research at the Center on Budget and Approach Priorities a think tank that advocates for left-leaning tax policies Vouchers and scholarship programs which use taxpayer money to cover private school tuition are part of the wider school choice movement that also includes charter schools and other alternatives to residents schools Opponents have long warned about vouchers draining guidance from residents schooling as students move from residents schools to private ones But research into several programs has shown several voucher recipients already were enrolled in private schools That means universal vouchers could drive up costs by creating two parallel tuition systems both funded by taxpayers In Arizona state leaders revealed the greater part private school students receiving vouchers in the first two years of the expanded initiative were not previously enrolled in population schools In fiscal year more than half the state s voucher recipients were previously enrolled in private schools or were being homeschooled Vouchers don t shift costs they add costs Joshua Cowen a professor of schooling initiative at Michigan State University who studies the issue in the last few days stated Stateline Bulk voucher recipients were already in private schools meaning states are paying for instruction they previously didn t have to fund Voucher proponents though say those figures can be misleading Arizona like other states with modern expansions previously had more modest voucher programs So specific kids who were already enrolled in private schools could have already been receiving state subsidies In addition to increasing competition supporters say the programs can certainly save taxpayer dollars by delivering training at a lower overall cost than traditional population schools One thing is certain With a record number of students receiving subsidies to attend private schools vouchers are hurriedly creating budget concerns for chosen state leaders The rising costs of school choice measures come after years of deep cuts to income taxes in a large number of states leaving them with less money to spend An end of pandemic-era aid and prospective looming cuts to federal help also have created widespread uncertainty about state budgets We re seeing a number of things that are creating a sort of perfect storm from a fiscal perspective in the states stated Tucker of the Center on Budget and Guidelines Priorities Last year Arizona leaders waded through an estimated billion budget shortfall Budget experts reported the voucher project was responsible for hundreds of millions of that deficit A new universal voucher campaign in Texas is expected to cost billion over its next two-year budget cycle a figure that could balloon to nearly billion by according to a legislative fiscal note Earlier this year Wyoming Republican Gov Mark Gordon signed a bill expanding the state s voucher scheme But last week he acknowledged his own substantial concerns about the state s ability to fund vouchers and its masses training obligations under the constitution I think the legislature s got a very tall task to understand how they re going to be able to fund all of these things he declared in an interview with WyoFile Voucher proponents who have been ongoing at the state level for years are gaining new momentum with promotion from President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans In January Trump ordered federal agencies to allow states tribes and military families to access federal money for private K- teaching through coaching savings accounts voucher programs or tax credits Last week Republicans on the House Tactics and Means Committee voted in favor of making billion available over the next four years for a federal school voucher project Part of broader work on a bill to extend Trump s tax cuts the measure would need a simple majority in the House and the Senate to pass Martin Lueken the director of the Fiscal Research and Guidance Center at EdChoice a nonprofit that advocates for school choice measures argues school choice measures can certainly deliver savings to taxpayers Lueken mentioned vouchers are not to blame for state budget woes He commented community school systems for years have increased spending faster than inflation And he noted that school choice measures make up a small share of overall state spending nationally about of total state expenditures in states with school choice he explained General schooling remains one of the largest line items in state budgets he commented in an interview They are still the dominant provider of K- tuition and certainly looking at the instruction pie they still receive the lion s share It s not a choice concern I would say that it s a concern with the status quo and the citizens school system he commented Related Articles China criticizes US ban on Harvard s international students These world leaders went to Harvard University before Trump s foreign learner ban Federal judge blocks Trump administration from barring foreign scholar enrollment at Harvard Bay Area school official apologizes for handling of antisemitism inquiry Instructor in South San Francisco arrested on charges of lewd acts with minors Washington D C and states offer specific school choice programs according to EdChoice That includes states with voucher programs so expansive that virtually all students can participate regardless of income But Lueken disclosed framing vouchers as a new entitlement initiative is misleading That s because all students even the wealthiest have constantly been entitled to a community training whether they ve chosen to attend free society schools or private ones that charge tuition At the end of the day the thing that matters most of above dollars are students and families he mentioned Research is clear that competition works General schools have responded in very positive procedures when they are faced with increased competitive pressure from choice programs Populace school advocates say funding both private and masses schools is untenable In Wisconsin Republican lawmakers are considering a major voucher expansion that would alter the funding structure for vouchers potentially putting more strain on the state s general fund The state spent about million on its four voucher programs during the - school year according to the Wisconsin Association of School Business Representatives which represents employees in school district finance human tools and leadership The association warns proposed decree could exacerbate problems with the unaffordable parallel school systems in place now by shifting more private schooling costs from parents of those students to state taxpayers at large Such expansion could create the conditions for even greater funding challenges for Wisconsin s traditional constituents schools and the state budget as a whole the association s research director wrote in a paper on the issue In Arizona Hobbs originally sought to eliminate the universal voucher operation a nonstarter in the Republican-controlled legislature She has since proposed shrinking the initiative by placing income limits that would disqualify the state s wealthiest families That idea also faced Republican opposition Legislators are now pushing to enshrine access to vouchers in the state constitution Marisol Garcia president of the Arizona Training Association the state s -member teachers union noted that vouchers and residents teaching funds are both sourced from the general fund So it almost promptly started to impact residents services she commented of the universal voucher activity While the union says vouchers have led to cutbacks of key support such as counselors in residents schools Garcia explained the sweeping scheme also affects the state s ability to fund other services like housing transportation and medical care Every budget cycle becomes where can we cut in order to essentially feed this out-of-control venture she stated Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy stateline org States Newsroom 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