Reaction to the Latest Craig Harris Report Showing ESA Fraud Rate Over Nine Months at 22 Percent

Another week.

Another report from Craig Harris and the 12 News Team on how flawed the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account Private School Welfare/Scam for the Rich and Crooked Program is.

Despite assurances from Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and Legislative Republicans that the fraud rate for ESA purchases is one percent or lower, a recent audit of publicly available records by Harris and his team at 12 News shows the figure is actually just north of 20 percent.

Maybe Republicans are confusing the ESA rate with the instances of voting fraud.

In Harris’s reporting, he showed that, over nine months, while there were 300,605 allowable purchases for items like private school tuition and books, there were also 83,878 banned acquisitions for items like cell phones, flat screen televisions, and lingerie.

That works out to an unallowable purchase or potential fraud rate of 22 percent.

That means that almost a quarter of every working and middle class tax payer dollar is going to waste, fraud, and abuse in a program that benefits Arizona’s wealthiest and most nefarious.

This report does not include earlier reports of ESA parents hoarding monies for post K-12 expenses or the instances where fraudsters invented phantom students to fleece the system.

The campaign ads really do write themselves here.

Condemnation and calls to clamp down on the ESA program followed the latest of Harris’s latest revelations.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office has increased its investigations into ESA fraud and has prosecuted several offenders already, issued a statement to Blog for Arizona that read:

“Arizona taxpayers deserve accountability for how their billion-dollar investment is being spent. My office will continue our public monies investigation to the program to ensure transparency for Arizonans.”

Dr. Teresa Leybra Ruiz, a Democratic Candidate to replace Mr. Horne, said to Blog for Arizona:

“12 News’s investigation reveals what we always knew to be true: The ESA voucher program is fraught with waste, fraud, and abuse. While Tom Horne claims that the rate of ESA fraud is less than 1%, we now know it to be at least 20%. This lack of leadership and accountability is completely unacceptable. Arizona deserves better.”

Democratic House Leader Oscar De Los Santos commented to Blog for Arizona:

“The 20% fraud rate in ESA vouchers is a full-blown scandal. Republicans built a voucher scheme riddled with waste and abuse. And it is siphoning hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars while Arizona families are squeezed by rising costs. Thankfully, this November, voters will have the chance to pass reforms that impose real oversight, crack down on fraud, and finally rein in this out-of-control program.”

Democratic Assistant House Leader and Educator Nancy Guiterrez also conveyed to the Blog:

“I am appalled that Republicans are supporting a billion-dollar government program that has a 20% error rate. Democrats have several bills that would help give the universal voucher program more guidelines and fraud reduction practices. Unfortunately, none of those bills are being heard in committee. Instead, Republicans continue to disparage our district schools that are incredibly accountable and transparent, accept all Arizona students, and provide a quality education. It is time to do something about universal voucher fraud. We are ready, willing, and able to do so.”

Republicans at the Arizona State Legislature are still stonewalling attempts to reform the ESA Welfare/Scam Program for the Rich and Crooked.

The Arizona Education Association and Save Our Schools Arizona have banded together to launch a petition drive to put an initiative on the November ballot to secure needed reforms in the ESA system that would protect working and middle-class taxpayer money.

Voters should sign those petitions and turn out to support it this November, along with supporting candidates up and down the ballot that will not allow this program to bankrupt the state and squeeze the state’s cash-strapped public schools.