Yee says she believes in no limits on ESA parental purchases

PHOENIX — The 2026 election is more than a year away, but Republican Schools Chief Tom Horne is facing a challenge from within his party.

Treasurer Kimberly Yee, flanked by conservative lawmaker Jake Hoffman, announced Wednesday morning at the Capitol that she wants to oust Horne.

She will focus on empowerment scholarships or education vouchers, which cost the state more than $1 billion annually.

Horne’s office has cracked down and rejected lavish purchases—like a $16,100 cello—with voucher money.

RELATED: The 12News I-Team looked into which zip codes are receiving the most school vouchers. Here’s what the data showed.

Yee and Hoffman, who recruited the treasurer to run against Horne, argue that he has gone too far and that there should be no limits on parental purchases.

“I believe in school choice and an educational free marketplace,” Yee said.

She claimed that voucher money spent on Rolex watches or high-end musical instruments accounts for “1/100th of a percent of the total receipts that are coming into the ESA program statewide.”

However, it’s not clear how the tax dollars are being spent.

That’s because the Treasurer’s Office refuses to release the records.

“We do not have control over those records. The third-party vendor does. Contact the third-party vendor,” she told 12News.

The third-party vendor—Florida-based ClassWallet—contracts with Yee’s office to pay out the Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.

Parents submit reimbursement requests to Horne’s Office, but Yee’s office directs ClassWallet to pay.

12News has repeatedly asked Yee’s office under the state’s Public Records Law for payment records since the ESA program was expanded three years ago for all Arizona families.

The cost to taxpayers has grown from $176 million in fiscal year 2022 to more than $1 billion for this coming school year that begins July 1, according to state records.

Yee’s office previously released public records that covered spending from 2022-2024. But she has refused to release updated records as the program has significantly expanded to roughly 90,000 students.

She said there are different rules in place.

“You are asking for data,” Yee said. “That we do not have.”

12News on Wednesday called and emailed ClassWallet for the records. The I-Team did not get a response.

However, the I-Team shouldn’t have to.

ClassWallet shows its customers—like the Arizona Treasurer’s Office—how to get the exact information 12News has requested. There’s even a YouTube video to show customers how to download the documents, which are public records.

Horne, meanwhile, was shocked that Yee was running against him in next year’s Republican primary. His office has released numerous public records to 12News showing high-priced voucher purchases that have been denied.

“I always knew Jake Hoffman was a wild extremist. I never thought of her that way,” he said.

Horne said he’s been cracking down on fraud and waste in the popular voucher program, and his staff has rejected millions of dollars of expenses he doesn’t believe should be eligible.

“She’s adopted this philosophy, this weird philosophy that Jake has been promoting that I should have to pay a $5,000 watch or a $24,000 golf simulator,” Horne said.

Yee and Horne said they want to debate each other, and there are also less well-known candidates running for the job.

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