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Superintendent warns ESA growth, charter shifts squeeze Bullhead City School District budget
Summary
At a Dec. 9 workshop, the superintendent presented state data showing how charter schools and Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) shift costs to the state and reduce district funding per student, warned of weak ESA accountability and explained how capital funding cuts would tighten the district's $18 million budget.
The Bullhead City School District superintendent told the board on Dec. 9 that changes in Arizona school choice funding are putting growing pressure on the district's general fund and capital accounts. The presentation compared district, charter and ESA per-student revenues, and showed how students moving out of district schools increases net cost to the state while shrinking locally controlled resources.
The superintendent said the slide deck, drawn from researcher Annabelle Apertella's figures, showed FY2023 averages and highlighted that charter schools' funding is drawn almost entirely from the state budget while many districts rely on a mix of state and county property taxes. "There are no rules, and there is very little accountability," the superintendent said of ESAs, calling out press reports of questionable use of…
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