Arizona’s Attorney General indicted an out-of-state couple on December 2 for fraudulently siphoning off $110,000 in state taxpayer funds through 43 ghost/phantom school vouchers (ESAs). Ignoring the fraud, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne notified the State Board of Education 10 days later that the state would immediately issue funds for all expense requests $2,000 and under – no questions asked.
According to Horne, if fraud with these reimbursements is determined after the fact, the people originally requesting the funds would be made to return it or prosecuted. He imagines that the state is having an easy time recovering the stolen funds from the Colorado/Utah couple with the 43 ghost/phantom students.
What could possibly go wrong? That is not meant to be a trick question.
The old saying is, “If you fool me once, shame on you. If you fool me twice, shame on me for letting you get away with it.
The taxpayers of Arizona may about to get screwed numerous times because the Republican members of the Arizona State Legislature have turned a blind eye on the concept of accountability and fiscal responsibility by not equipping the Department of Education with the staffing and tools needed to better root out the fraudsters and unworthy purchase requests from these gritty vendors.
This is also foolhardy because the scholarship accounts are already blowing a hole in the state budget.
Commenting on this really bad idea about pushing up to $2,000 in reimbursements with no questions asked up front, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs posted on social media.
It should be noted that the Governor had a chance to bargain for greater reforms in the Empowerment Scholarship Program in her first two budgets but did not play hard ball with the Republican legislators when she had the chance.
Incoming Democratic House Leader Oscar De Los Santos also posted:
Save Our Schools Arizona issued a press release that stated:
“Superintendent Tom Horne recently announced that the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) which oversees the state’s ESA voucher program will automatically reimburse all 85,000 backlogged purchases under $2,000, potentially approving up to $170 million in expenditures1 with no oversight. The move comes despite multiple indictments for fraud and abuse plaguing Arizona’s universal ESA voucher program, the latest announced just last week.
Superintendent Horne stated at Monday’s State Board of Education meeting that “for all orders that are $2,000 or less, we’ll simply go ahead and pay them and audit later.” This change raises serious concerns about the department’s lack of oversight of taxpayer money, and the ability for individuals to defraud the program. There is no clear plan for how the ADE will audit these tens of thousands of purchases after they are approved or recover funds used inappropriately. Given the abundant examples of clear misuse reported over the past year, this new policy appears extremely short-sighted and irresponsible coming from Supt. Horne, who is tasked with closely monitoring taxpayer funds used in this program.
“This is a recipe for disaster,” said Beth Lewis, Executive Director at Save Our Schools Arizona. “This new policy will green light hundreds of millions in taxpayer-funded purchases like luxury ski passes, waterpark trips, expensive home appliances, and $1800 collectible LEGO sets, as reported earlier this year, with zero approval process. This fast-tracking of reimbursements props the door wide open for fraud and abuse.”
Ms. Lewis is right.
This is a recipe for disaster.
Another old saying is when you are in a hole that you can not get out of, stop digging.
Well Mr. Horne and his supporters on the Arizona Board of Education are not heeding that advice and are instead continuing to dig into the abyss of potential ESA Fraud.
Hopefully, Governor Hobbs will finally insist on full transparency and accountability as a must have when budget negotiations commence this year.
Arizona Taxpayers should no longer be defrauded from welfare for the wealthy recipients and out of state and instate hucksters.
The ads write themselves on the people in the Arizona Legislature and their supporters who will blindly allow middle and working class taxpayers get fleeced.
The Governor and legislators that want to stop fraud need to act now.
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Obviously, you are unaware that Hobbs contributed to the backlog problem, which put pressure on the state to reimburse faster, by signing a bill that required direct reimbursement instead of going through the contractor we used, Class Wallet.
Then Hobbs required the “payment before checking procedure,” called risk-based auditing, when she signed another bill requiring it. That’s right. The practice she condems, she required to be done.
ASRS 15-2402 sub B paragraph 4 says that the department, in consultation with the office of the auditor general, shall develop risk-based auditing procedures for audits conducted pursuant to this subsection.
Risk-based auditing requires prioritizing audits, and that is what is being done. But in the end, all requests are checked.
So Horne is complying with a law the governor signed. I think its apology time at BfA.
This comes back to the question you have not yet answered John. What are you and your colleagues at the legislature going to do to correct this rash of fraud that you and the legislature allowed to flourish with your welfare for the wealthy scheme? We are have been waiting for days.Oh and saying I will answer when I apologize is not going to cut it. Actually, come to think of it. You and the ones that voted for this fiscal mess are probably the ones that owe the tax payers of Arizona the apology for giving hard earned middle class and working class families taxpayer dollars to the rich who do not need the money to send their children to private school and the grifters who have fleeced the state coffers with ghost/phantom student accounts.
Nice but cowardly dodge.
This coming from the person who is not answering the questions put forth to him.
You will never answer because it would make you look clueless. Your excuse for not answering is so lame that I suspect that even your supporters cringe when you say it
@ Sen. Kavanagh –
You have at least one thing in common with Tom Horne.
You’re more interested in blaming others than in reining in ESA fraud..
Maybe there should be a character education course for elected officials.
“You’re more interested in blaming others than in reining in ESA fraud..”
Blaming others for their mistakes is a hallmark of the Party of Personal Responsibility.
@wileybud –
I’m not convinced this is an actual mistake.
Craig, that seems to be part of their MO. Promote garbage like unaccountable vouchers and when caught with their hands in the cookie jar loudly proclaim it was a mistake and Democrats are to blame. And the suckers eat it up!
I think blog readers are cringing at your responses. Question is still on the table John. What are you and your colleagues going to do at the legislative level to stop the fraud and abuse in the ESA program? What are you going to do to make sure the wealthy do not use it as a welfare for the rich program?
The grift is the point.
Republicans like John Government Checks Kavanagh steal from the middle class and give to the wealthy.
It’s from the Bible.
You’re right Johnny Boy, it’s apology time.
We here at BfA sincerely apologize to our visitors for your being an insufferably malevolent twit.