by David Safier
To my surprise, Brewer vetoed the bill that would have expanded the "empowerment scholarship accounts" to include students at D or F schools, gifted students and children of people in the armed forces. Right now, they only apply to students with learning disabilities and, I believe, children in foster homes.
My surprise lessened when I read this:
Brewer said she is willing to reconsider those fixes and possible expansion of the empowerment accounts once there is a budget deal.
At this point, it's impossible to know when Brewer is opposing a bill because she's against it and when she's sticking her veto pen to Republican legislators to bend them to her will on the budget.
These vouchers on steroids, the latest voucher spawn of the Goldwater Institute (yes, G.I. drafted the legislation), are the SB1070 of education. Arizona is the launch pad for a new and even more insidious version of private school vouchers the privatizers hope they can replicate elsewhere.