Missouri's MOScholars program now directs nearly 98% of its $15.6 million in state funding to religious schools, subsidizing institutions that can discriminate based on faith and moral standards while draining public education resources.
Over 98% of MOScholars private school scholarships are now taxpayer-funded, and the program admits it does not verify whether students continue to meet eligibility requirements after initial approval. This reckless abandonment of fiscal responsibility and program integrity represents a shocking betrayal of public trust and a dangerous precedent for diverting critical education funds without accountability.
Arizona Republican lawmakers pushed through a budget to enroll the state in a federal voucher scheme before rules were published, a move vetoed by Governor Katie Hobbs. This reckless maneuver constitutes political malpractice that threatens to defraud taxpayers, dismantle public education, and deepen inequality for generations.
A legislative effort to transfer oversight of Missouri's private school voucher program, MOScholars, from the State Treasurer's Office to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was killed after a committee chairman refused a vote following a call from St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski. This brazen fusion of religious lobbying and legislative obstruction is a direct assault on transparent governance and a disheartening betrayal of public trust in education policy.
The Republican primary race for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction erupted in a heated debate where incumbent Tom Horne and challenger Kimberly Yee exchanged accusations of mismanaging school voucher funds and supporting divisive ideological policies. This unseemly Republican infighting over the stewardship of education and over a billion dollars in taxpayer money reveals a troubling preoccupation with culture wars over the core mission of ensuring every Arizona child receives a quality education.
In a last-minute political scramble, Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek's office failed to secure unified support from the MOScholars program's administrators to stop a legislative move to transfer oversight to the education department, with the influential, Herzog-linked foundation notably abstaining. This opaque power play, where a major beneficiary's silence speaks louder than words, exposes the unsettling and shadowy intersection of education policy, private influence, and political expediency, threatening to undermine transparent governance and the very families the program purports to serve.
