AZ: More Voucher Fraud

Arizona continues to be a national leader in school voucher fraud.

Even before they opened the voucher program up to universal levels, Arizona was setting examples, like the $700K (at least) of taxpayer-funded voucher money that was spent on clothes and beauty supplies. 

Last year, three Pheonix women were hauled into court for making allegedly fake bills for imaginary services for a child. 

But at least that case involved an actual existing child. Last February, Attorney General Kris Mayes announced charges related to a five-person conspiracy (with three of those persons state education department employees) to bill the state for a whole bunch of fake, ghost children who didn't even exist. They raked in over $600K of taxpayer money.

At the time, Mayes called for more guardrails for the system. Tom Horne, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction pooh-poohed her concerns, announcing “I’m going to be sure that we root out fraud and that every expenditure is a valid educational expense.”

And one would certainly think that some of these big ticket frauds, the state would try to create a little more oversight and accountability for the voucher program.

But apparently one would be wrong.

Today, Mayes announced yet another fraud case in which a couple has been charged with 60 counts of fraud, having put in applications for 50 students, 43 of whom do not actually exist. The couple-- Johnny Lee Bowers and Ashley Meredith Hewitt-- apparently did not even live in Arizona at the time. They grabbed around $100K, which they used for "personal living expenses," so this was like their job, what they did for a living.

Horne says, hey, we added an auditor finally to watch over the program. Plus an investigator. Yes, two people to keep tabs on a $800 million program seems like plenty. 

Meanwhile, Beth Lewis , executive director of public school advocacy group Save Our Schools Arizona had a statement as well.

Arizona’s ESA voucher program is wide open for fraud and abuse — and the Republican majority in the Arizona Legislature has refused to add any oversight or accountability. Misuse and outright fraud will continue to abound until lawmakers add serious guardrails to this off-the-rails entitlement program.

One of the great disconnects in the voucher movement continues to be alleged fiscal conservatives who somehow don't want to watch over how taxpayer dollars are spent when it comes to taxpayer-funded school vouchers. And sure-- with the hugeness of Arizona's voucher program, what's a few hundred thousand here and there? 

The free market is supposed to provide all the necessary accountability to the modern choice landscape. Bad actors are supposed to be weeded out when families vote with their feet. No word yet on how phantom feet are supposed to vote, or how the invisible hand is able to wave away fraud. Until those details are hashed out, maybe the taxpayers deserve some actual rules and regulations and oversight.