But Bill Lee does
The top priority of Gov. Lee and his legislative allies in the 2025 General Assembly is passing a universal school voucher scheme.
It was the first bill filed for the upcoming session.
For the entirety of his time in office – since 2018 – Lee has been pushing to privatize the state’s public schools. And, it seems he just won’t stop.
Interestingly, anytime vouchers are put to a public vote, they fail. It happened in Kentucky, a state that voted 65-35 for Trump – and 65-35 against school vouchers.
In 2018, Arizona voters overwhelmingly rejected school vouchers. On the ballot that year was a measure that would have allowed all parents — even the wealthiest ones — to receive taxpayer money to send their kids to private, typically religious schools.
Arizonans voted no, and it wasn’t close. Even in a right-leaning state, with powerful Republican leaders supporting the initiative, the vote against it was 65% to 35%.
This year, voters in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kentucky rejected vouchers. In Kentucky, the margin was 2-1 against vouchers – and all 120 counties in Kentucky opposed a ballot initiative that would have allowed vouchers.
While the results of last week’s election indicate a closely divided nation on many issues, support for public schools is a consistent winner. And, when asked – in blue states and red states and in rural and urban areas – voters reject school vouchers.
Still, Bill Lee persists.