Sen. Steve Yarbrough makes out like a legislator on tax-credit tuition program

[QED]

In infuriates me for my taxes to pay for someone's religious education. Oh, and for the legislators' lining their pockets.


Sen. Steve Yarbrough makes out like a ...legislator ... on tax-credit tuition program

"Eighteen years later, $140 million is now being diverted from the state treasury, most of it to pay private-school tuition for non-poor, non-disabled students.

It was pitched as a program that would expand school choice. But fewer students are attending private school now than when the tax-credit program began, yet more and more money is being siphoned from the state to pay the private school tuition tab."

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"ACSTO reports it also paid an undisclosed amount to HY Processing to handle contributions and scholarship applications. HY is owned by Steven and Linda Yarbrough and their business partners, David and Stacy Harowitz, according to Corporation Commission records. (While he left the dollar figure blank in his 2014 filing, Yarbrough's STO paid HY Processing $560,710 in 2013 and $426,655 the previous year.)

Yarbrough's STO also paid $52,000 in rent. To Yarbrough. He owns the building, which also houses his law firm and another STO. School Choice Arizona doles out scholarships from corporate tax credits. Yarbrough sits on School Choice Arizona's board and collected $12,240 in rent, according to that non-profit's latest IRS filing."

http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2015/07/28/steve-yarbrough-tax-credit-private-school-tuition/30760847/

[saidsimplesimon]

1. Take action

Call your representative, I am meeting with a group planning to do just that. Here is a related article:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2017/01/31/arizona-school-vouchers-expansion-audit/97163702/

Arizona school-voucher expansion afoot despite $102K of misspent funds in 6 months
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Rob O'Dell , The Republic | azcentral.com Published 6:09 a.m. MT Jan. 31, 2017 | Updated 12:34 p.m. MT Feb. 1, 2017

Lawmakers are renewing their efforts to expand empowerment scholarships, even as an audit shows lax oversight and misspent funds.

Republican lawmakers are renewing their efforts to expand a program that allows parents to use public money to pay the educational expenses of children who attend private schools or are homeschooled.

The push to expand Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program comes in the wake of a state audit that found officials had identified that more than $102,000 in ESA funds were misspent during a six-month period, from August 2015 to January 2016, in addition to other improper purchases, as well as spotty oversight.

The examples cited by auditors include parents who kept the state's money after enrolling their children in public school, parents who bought items that are not allowed under the program, such as snow globes and sock monkeys, and parents who didn't submit required expense reports to the Arizona Department of Education.

The state recovered less than 15 percent of the misspent funds, according to state auditors.

The review by the Office of the Auditor General came amid questions last year about oversight of the program. Auditors concluded the state Department of Education should strengthen its management of the program and its efforts to recover misspent money. Auditors also recommended lawmakers consider changing state laws to better ensure ESA money is properly spent.
…snip
Under legislation introduced by Republican Sen. Debbie Lesko, of Peoria, all students would qualify for the ESA program by the 2020-2021 school year.

Senate Bill 1431 proposes phasing in eligibility, starting in the 2017-2018 school year with students in kindergarten, first grade, sixth grade and ninth grade. Within four years, all students would qualify. A separate bill, Senate Bill 1281, by Republican Sen. Steve Smith, would require the Department of Education to contract with a private firm to manage ESA accounts and require random, quarterly and annual audits of the program.

Lesko said in a prepared statement that SB 1431 would allow parents to tailor their children's education to their needs. Traditional public district schools oppose the program, she said, because "they don't want the competition."
…snip

Take action
Contact lawmakers sponsoring the ESA bills:
Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale: 602-926-5413, or email her here.
Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa: 602-926-5685, or email him here.
Senate President Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler: 602 926-5863, or email him here.
Senate Bill 1281, sponsored by Smith, requires the Department of Education to contract with an outside firm to help administer the ESA program, and makes various changes to the program.Read the bill summary here.
Senate Bill 1431, sponsored by Lesko, would make all Arizona students eligible for the ESA program by the 2020-2021 school year. Read the bill as introduced here.