Roberts: Koch-funded group spends six figures to 'educate' on vouchers

The Koch network is stepping up to protect its investment in Arizona.

An out-of-state group called the LIBRE Institute on Thursday launched a “six-figure grassroots initiative to empower and educate families in Phoenix about the policies increasing their educational opportunities.”

Translation: Charles and David Koch and their conservative/libertarian network of zillionaire donors are prepared to spend whatever it takes to ensure that Arizona voters can’t – or won’t – kill the expanded voucher program approved earlier this year by Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature.

Koch involvement is nothing new

Already, the Koch network and associated dark money groups have spent millions to get a governor and Legislature that would push for and pass universal vouchers.

Already, the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity is suing to try to knock Prop. 305 – the citizen referendum aimed at vetoing our leaders' universal voucher law – off the 2018 ballot.

Now comes the plan the Koch-funded LIBRE Institute to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars targeting Arizona Latino families with ads, mailers and phone calls about the wonders of educational choice. Given that we already have plenty of educational choice, I'm guessing the campaign is really about the state's new universal voucher law – the one that’s on hold thanks to a true grassroots referendum effort by a citizen group called Save Our Schools Arizona.

You just wouldn't know it from LIBRE's announcement Thursday of its PR campaign.

“Through the launch of our new grassroots initiative we are educating families on the educational options available to them, and on the role that educational freedom plays in empowering families with the ability to select the best options for their children,” Carlos Alfaro, LIBRE’s Arizona director said, in a statement. “When you empower families with more choices and greater access to information, it better equips our community to reach the American Dream.”

What LIBRE should tell voters

Hopefully, as part of this “grassroots” initiative, the LIBRE folks will be sure to explain that a voucher alone isn’t going to empower parents send their kids to private school – not unless they can kick in an extra $5,000 to $10,000 a year to cover tuition.

Hopefully, as part of its educational efforts, LIBRE will explain that a universal voucher program will more likely create two sets of Arizona schools: private ones for the children of parents who can afford to pay the difference between what a voucher is worth and what private tuition costs. And public ones for the kids whose parents can’t.

Hopefully, as part of this six-figure campaign, the LIBRE Institute will explain how Arizona’s woefully underfunded public schools will become a higher state funding priority once all the well-to-do kids have fled to private schools.

Hopefully, the LIBRE folks will explain how Arizona kids already have plenty of choice through open enrollment, home schooling, charter schools, tax-funded scholarships to private schools and yes, vouchers (a k a Empowerment Scholarship Accounts).

How ESAs already are available to anyone who is disabled and to anyone who attends a poorly performing school.  Also to anyone who has a parent in the military and anyone in the foster-care system and anyone who lives on tribal lands. Also, to  anyone who has a sibling who already has an ESA.

So who would get vouchers under our leaders' new universal voucher plan?

Mostly, I’m guessing it’ll be suburban kids whose parents already can afford to send their kids to private school.

But then, I'm sure the Koch-funded six-figure PR plan will explain all of that.

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