GLOBE EXCLUSIVE: SPI Horne Responds to ESA Criticism

In a Globe exclusive, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Tom Horne came out swinging against accusations that parents are abusing the ESA program, and that the program itself is out of control. In a recent segment, 12 News criticized Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, highlighting eight categories of alleged spending abuses for which parents have used ESA funds, including piano lessons, swimming, horseback riding, and martial arts. The report framed these expenses as questionable uses of public dollars. But Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne  (R) is firing back, calling the report misleading and out of touch with the reality of both ESA families and public school spending.

In the article, Assistant House Minority Leader Nancy Gutierrez (D-18), a longtime public school teacher who was recently laid off, blamed the ESA program for funding shortfalls in her district. Gutierrez claimed that the rapid expansion of vouchers is costing public schools their teachers.

The Arizona Globe asked Horne if this was true, to which he replied, “It is possible, but only if the district school is not meeting the needs of the child and the parents feel compelled to take the child elsewhere. We have 90,000 kids in ESA, but 1.3 million in public schools—most parents want their kids to go to the neighborhood school. If schools are fearful of losing students to ESAs, they need to increase their academic proficiency so that parents will feel that the needs of the child are being met by the school district.”

As for the spending categories themselves, Horne says every single one mirrors services already offered, often at greater cost within Arizona’s traditional public school system.

The report noted that $6.8 million in ESA funds had been used for private music lessons, including $1 million specifically for piano. Horne emphasized that public schools routinely employ music teachers and fund music programs, and he called the criticism shortsighted.

“Those opposed to this are hopeless Philistines,” Horne said. “Numerous studies show that those who begin studying piano at an early age do much better in mathematics than others. There are two possible explanations. One is that it develops the right side of the brain. The other is that notation is a form of abstract reasoning. As the piano student progresses, the student has to keep track in his or her mind of several lines at a time.”

The outlet also raised questions about the $2.8 million spent on swimming lessons. Horne dismissed the criticism, noting that many public schools maintain their pools and that “studies show that physically fit students do better academically.” The same rationale, he argued, applies to other physical activities supported by ESA funds, including $1.9 million spent on gymnastics, $1.3 million on general fitness, and $1 million on martial arts. “These activities contribute to a child’s mental and physical well-being,” Horne said, “and public schools already fund them as part of physical education or extracurricular programming.”

Another $2.8 million was used for math tutoring, which Horne vigorously defended, saying, “Studies show that tutoring is the best method of improving academic performance. The Department of Education spent $40 million to provide free tutoring to public school students. How is it a scandal when ESA families make the same investment?”

The report also flagged $1.6 million spent on dance instruction, something Horne said is a standard part of the arts curriculum in many public schools. “Dance is considered one of the four core arts,” he said. “So again, only Philistines would oppose that.”

Perhaps the most misunderstood expenditure, according to Horne, was the $1.1 million in ESA funds used for horseback riding lessons. “This would typically be special education students for whom horseback riding has been shown to be an excellent therapy,” Horne explained. “This improves their academic performance.”

In each case, Horne argued, ESA parents are not exploiting the system, but are utilizing it exactly as intended. “Every single category 12 News attacked represents something that public schools already spend money on. The difference is that ESA families are personalizing it to meet their children’s specific needs. That’s not a misuse of funds—it’s what empowerment looks like.”

Critics have accused 12 News of pushing a political agenda rather than offering real analysis. They insist that the ESA program is designed to empower families, not undermine schools. Given the precarious position Horne finds himself in due to a primary challenge by Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee. It’s unclear whether Horne’s diehard support of the ESA program will help or hurt his 2026 run for the position.