Ducey to Koch network: 'I didn’t run for governor to play small ball' on school vouchers

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey extolled the expansion of his signature school voucher-style program at a summit of Koch mega-donors during an annual summit near Palm Springs last weekend.

According to a story in the Washington Post, Ducey warned that a referendum loss in November could dramatically limit or complicate future attempts to expand the Empowerment Scholarship Account in the future.

“This is very real fight in my state,” Ducey said, according to the Post. “I didn’t run for governor to play small ball. I think this is an important idea."

The Washington Post wrote that the Koch network is expected “to spend heavily to support the expanded law.”

The Republican governor, who is a beneficiary of the Koch network, earned national accolades from school-choice advocates for muscling through an expansion of the Arizona program last year.

The expanded Empowerment Scholarship Account program is on hold pending a referendum known as Proposition 305.

The expanded program would make all public students eligible to use public money for private and religious schooling. It came after years of intense advocacy by special-interest groups that want to transform public education in Arizona and across the U.S. by giving parents more options outside of traditional public-school classrooms. 

Currently, only students from certain categories can apply for the program — such as students with special needs and those from poor-performing schools.

Supporters of the law have sent mixed messages about how much money they would invest in a ballot fight to keep the expanded program.

Andrew Clark is the Arizona director for Americans for Prosperity, which is the political advocacy arm of the Koch network. 

He told The Arizona Republic on Tuesday that the group is "inspired by the improvement in Arizona academic performance and are committed to defending the progress that's been made."

But he did not say how much money the group could spend to sell the expanded program to voters in November.

The Washington Post wrote that Ducey introduced Steve Perry, of Capital Prep Charter Schools, to the group. Perry has spoken across Arizona in support of the law.

Ducey has faced backlash from parents and public school advocacy groups who say the program siphons away money from public schools and has little transparency with academic performance and parental spending.

They also cite investigations by The Arizona Republic that revealed the program benefited students in more-affluent areas and lacked state oversight. 

Save Our Schools Arizona, a mostly-volunteer group of parents from across the political spectrum, bucked expectations and gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the the expanded law.

Prop. 305, the referendum, will let voters decide whether Arizona moves forward with or rejects the expansion.

Supporters of the law also have waged a legal battle to try to get the referendum tossed from the ballot. A court decision is expected on that battle any day.

Dawn Penich-Thacker, spokeswoman for Save Our Schools Arizona, said Ducey's comments show he is a "pawn" of the billionaire Koch brothers. 

"The governor is correct that this is a real fight in Arizona: it's out-of-state billionaires and ladder-climbing politicians versus Arizona families and communities," she wrote in a statement to The Arizona Republic.

"What's clear from the seminar Gov. Ducey attended is that this is not about Arizona families nor Arizona's economy or future."

She said the group's work is a David and Goliath-style battle that pits everyday Arizonans against out-of-state billionaires who plan "to bury us in dollars." 

Follow the reporter on Twitter @yvonnewingett and on Facebook. Contact her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com and 602-444-4712.

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