Arizona school voucher funds used for Broadway show tickets, concerts and trips, records obtained by 12News show

PHOENIX — Public schools across Arizona are closing, educators are losing jobs, and many districts report budget shortfalls. 

But a 12News investigation found that when it comes to entertainment tickets, hundreds of thousands of dollars are still being spent—using state-funded school voucher money.

RELATED: Arizona teachers push ballot initiative to reform ESA voucher program

The spending is part of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which provides public funds to families for educational expenses. Since 2022, the program has been expanded to include all Arizona students, regardless of family income. It’s expected to cost taxpayers more than $1 billion this fiscal year for more than 100,000 children.

Public records obtained by 12News Investigates show that ESA funds have been used to purchase tickets to a wide range of popular events, including Disney on Ice, The Lion King, and performances by the Harlem Globetrotters. Some individual tickets for these events cost as much as $177, and others approached $1,000.

According to the records, families spent more than $350,000 on tickets to shows, including Broadway productions and concerts. Another $77,551 was spent on rideshares like Uber and Lyft.

In one case, a family was reimbursed nearly $6,000 for their child to twice attend a Broadway camp in New York City.

12News obtained the records after filing a lawsuit against Arizona State Schools Superintendent Tom Horne and State Treasurer Kimberly Yee. The records reveal details about how ESA funds have been used since the program’s expansion.

Jennifer Jennings, an endowed professor at Princeton University who studies school choice programs, analyzed the data for 12News. 

She said the records show some details about the purchases, but many transactions lack clear explanations.

“The Ticketmaster tickets could be for anything,” Jennings said.

In some cases, the data specifies that families attended well-known Broadway productions.

“Certainly some of the Broadway tickets do specify that they went to see Wicked or Les Misérables or The Phantom of the Opera,” Jennings said.

Under current ESA guidelines, these purchases are considered allowable.

Horne confirmed that such expenses can qualify under the program. Yee declined to be interviewed.

However, some educators say the spending highlights a troubling contrast between voucher spending and the financial challenges facing public schools.

Raquel Mamani, a middle school reading teacher in Phoenix, spoke at a press conference at the Arizona Capitol organized by the state teachers union.

“This has got to stop,” Mamani said. “This universal voucher program is absolutely unaccountable and out of control.”

Delia Lyding, a teacher in the Kyrene School District, shared similar frustrations.

“As a public school educator, I have to hunt for free field trips for my students because we can’t afford to take them places,” she said. “When I see a high-dollar ticket price, it just makes me think of all the things we’re missing out in the education system. It’s just not right, and it’s not fair.”

Jennings also noted that some of the Broadway shows attended by ESA families were performed locally at ASU Gammage in Tempe, but others were tied to trips to New York City.

“They are often happening with other New York City events, like the Statue of Liberty or something along those lines,” Jennings said.

Meanwhile, Horne’s office recently released what it described as a random sample audit, saying it found little evidence of misuse or fraud in the ESA program. 

“About 2 percent of dollars spent by ESA account holders is for items that are unallowable under program rules, according to a precise study completed by a Stanford PhD,” Horne said in a statement. “In addition, actual fraud or egregious purchases are at 0.3%, according to the same study.”

Horne said that’s far below the rate of misuse for programs like Medicaid, food stamps and unemployment insurance.

The audit was posted online, but it was not conducted independently. 

Instead, it was carried out by a deputy in Horne’s office, and that official was not made available to answer questions.

Jennings said the audit raised questions.

After reviewing the data, she said it appeared that some higher-risk transactions—like those uncovered by the 12News investigation—may have been underrepresented, potentially lowering the reported level of questionable spending.

“The state’s own data file has a problem,” she said. 

She said the workbook the Department of Education put online does not prove there was a random sample.

Meanwhile, Terry Leyba Ruiz, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for state schools superintendent, said Friday that Horne is misleading the public with his audit.

She said Horne continues to cite a fraud rate of less than 2 percent by comparing questionable purchases to the entire ESA budget, rather than the total transactions actually reviewed. 

“That’s not how statistics work,” Ruiz said. “You can’t take a portion from a sample and then compare it to the entire population to make the number look smaller. If one of my students turned in work like that, I’d send them back to redo the assignment.”

You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12+ app! 

The free 12+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like “Today in AZ” and “12 News” and our daily lifestyle program, “Arizona Midday”—on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. 

12+  showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona. 

Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives. 

Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for “12 News KPNX.” 

Amazon Fire TV: Search for “12 News KPNX” to find the free 12+ app to add to your account, or have the 12+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.