Arizona's ESA scam: the names may change, but the grift goes on

In at least one instance, the name *did* change, but the grift did not.

From ProPublica, dated 12/31/2024 -

Reporting Highlights

• An Opaque System: Arizona imposes no transparency or accountability requirements on private schools that receive taxpayer dollars through the state’s voucher program.
• Buyer Beware: Voucher parents shopping for a school say it’s hard to obtain independently verified information on the quality of instruction or financial stability of private schools.
• Opposed to Reform: As other states replicate Arizona’s program, voucher advocates oppose requiring publicly funded private schools to meet the same educational standards as public schools.

One afternoon in September, parents started arriving for pickup at Title of Liberty Academy, a private Mormon K-8 school in Mesa, Arizona, on the eastern outskirts of Phoenix.

Individually, the moms and dads were called in to speak to the principal. That’s when they were told that the school, still just a few months old, was closing due to financial problems.

[snip]

For instance, the state never informed parents who were new to Title of Liberty and were planning to spend their voucher money there that it had previously been a charter school called ARCHES Academy — which had had its charter revoked last school year due to severe financial issues. Nor that, as a charter, it had a record of dismal academic performance, with just 13% of its students proficient in English and 0% in math in 2023.

[snip]

Arizona does no vetting of new voucher schools. Not even if the school or the online school “provider” has already failed, or was founded yesterday, or is operating out of a strip mall or a living room or a garage, or offers just a half hour of instruction per morning. (If you’re an individual tutor in Arizona, all you need in order to register to start accepting voucher cash is a high school diploma.)

There is “nothing” required, said Michelle Edwards, the founder and principal of ARCHES and then of Title of Liberty, in an interview with ProPublica. It was “shocking how little oversight” the state was going to provide of her ESA-funded private school, Edwards said.

ARCHES is now Ethos Foundation (actually, when using the website of Arizona Corporation Commission [ACC], clicking on ARCHES inactive listing pulls up Ethos' information), and Edwards is listed as a director, President, and CEO of Ethos.

Also from the article -

One mom had even discovered the school by window shopping: It was in the same strip mall as her orthodontist’s office, next to a China Palace, and she’d noticed the flags outside with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints imagery. (The school was not formally affiliated with the church.)

[snip]

For instance, the state never informed parents who were new to Title of Liberty and were planning to spend their voucher money there that it had previously been a charter school called ARCHES Academy — which had had its charter revoked last school year due to severe financial issues. Nor that, as a charter, it had a record of dismal academic performance, with just 13% of its students proficient in English and 0% in math in 2023.

A storefront operation with earlier financial and academic issues continuing to have issues?  And the taxpayers picking up the tab?

Is anyone shocked that it continued to operate?