TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Since the 2022-2023 school year, the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) has reported a significant financial impact because more families are using school vouchers and Education Savings Accounts. They said about 4,000 students chose to use the vouchers to go to private schools or do homeschooling instead.
Since the state gives the district money based on enrollment, this cost the district about $20 million.
Ricky Hernandez, TUSD's Chief Financial Officer, acknowledged that the district's declining enrollment has been exacerbated by the growing trend of families opting for school vouchers.
He said because they lost so much money, it directly impacted the money teachers are paid.
"If those numbers aren’t there, then that certainly affects the number of teachers that we have, how we can compensate them," Hernandez said.
ESAs and vouchers, he said, also affect the district because it limits the competitive pay they can offer teachers to retain and recruit them.
Tucson Education Association President Jim Byrne echoed these concerns, and said inadequate compensation can lead to teachers going to other district.
"Having to look at, 'do I stay in education? How many other jobs do I have to have to keep this one?'" Byrne said.
While staffing cuts have not yet been implemented, Hernandez indicated that departments within TUSD have faced operating budget reductions. Instructional departments that include teacher training, language, and counseling have each had to cut their budgets by three percent. Non-instructional departments that include transportation, finance, and human resources have had to reduce their budgets by 6%.
“We continue to have needs and expenses that certainly exceed our ability to fund them,” he added.
The nationwide trend toward school choice became more popular earlier this year when President Donald Trump signed an executive order that expanded access to school vouchers, allowing people to use taxpayer money for private school tuition, homeschooling, and tutoring for families.
Hernandez noted that TUSD is preparing for continued declines in enrollment as a result, saying, "In our financial projections, we’re accounting for some of that loss, so we’re assuming that some of those kids are not coming."
Governor Katie Hobbs has voiced interest in reassessing and potentially cutting funding for school vouchers.
The Vail Unified School District reported a different experience with vouchers. While they acknowledged an impact from this trend, they also noted that their enrollment numbers were balanced out by students coming from outside their district, leading to an increase in overall enrollment.
——-
Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
