LAURIE ROBERTS

Roberts: First Things First audit? Bring it on

Laurie Roberts
opinion columnist
State Senate President . Andy Biggs

Senate President Andy Biggs has requested an audit of First Things First.

This, as he seeks to snag some of the agency’s stockpiled cash to help fund Arizona’s public schools.

OK, so here’s the spot where you expect me to gnash my teeth and wail about our leaders who want to take money away from babies.

Sorry, not going to happen.

I’ve never been a particular fan of First Things First, largely because it’s difficult to tell what the agency actually does as it seeks to create “a family-centered, comprehensive, collaborative and high-quality early childhood system.”

Here’s what I do know.  First Things First has a healthy-sized staff: 145 people. And it’s sitting on pile of cash: $360 million that it’s not using.

That’s easily more than twice what it spends in a year.

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First Things First was approved in 2006 by voters – most likely because most of them didn’t have to pay for it. It imposes an 80-cent-a-pack tax on cigarettes to pay for programs intended to help children get ready for school.

According to its website, its “signature” programs help parents find child-care providers, offer a helpline to answer child development questions and pass out Arizona Parent Kits to parents of newborns, including a set of six DVDs on how to be a good parent.

It also gives money to various local agencies to shore up their early childhood programming – and that’s a good thing.

But for every dollar it spends, First Things First has more than two dollars sitting there in the bank.

Biggs and House Speaker David Gowan would like to get their hands on that stockpiled money. That, however, can’t happen unless voters say so.

I’m not suggesting that voters should say so, especially given the state’s own growing stockpile of cash – a surplus that could be used to immediately change our status as the cheapest state in the nation when it comes to funding public education.

Still, it would be nice to know specifically how First Things First is spending public money and whether a staff of 145 people is needed to administer…whatever it is that the agency does.

Of course, Biggs' call for a fiscal and performance audit of First Things First is a part of his master plan for a money grab.

Of course, the FTF board will commence a pricey PR campaign to stop Biggs in his tracks.

But if the agency is spending our money wisely, what does it have to fear?