Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposes nearly $6.5B budget half of which goes toward a school voucher program

[LiberalArkie]

November 21, 2024

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday proposed a nearly $6.5 billion budget for the coming year that directs half of new spending toward a school voucher program.

The Republican governor called for increasing the state's budget by nearly 3%, or $182.5 million, in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Sanders detailed the budget plan to lawmakers ahead of next year's legislative session, which begins Jan. 13.

“Budgets show our priorities and deliver on the promises we all spent years campaigning on: education, maternal health, efficient government, public safety, and child well-being,” Sanders told members of the Joint Budget Committee. “We all ran on improving these systems. Through this balanced budget, we can deliver on our promises.”

The budget proposal forecasts that the state will end the coming fiscal year with a surplus of nearly $300 million. Finance officials have said they expect Arkansas to end the current fiscal year with a surplus of about $280 million.

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https://www.thv11.com/article/news/local/arkansas-governor-proposes-65b-budget-school-vouchers/91-a2d5624d-6db6-4d5d-b663-e07d61cb8897

[Irish_Dem]

1. Rich schools and poor schools.

Nothing in between.

[Tadpole Raisin]

2. And since they know the poor people can't make up the difference

Between the voucher amount and the remaining cost of the tuition, the voucher is useless to them.

Hand outs to the rich and ‘prisons and workhouses’ for the poor.

These people!!!

[303squadron]

3. Excuse me if i correct the OP thread start title

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders proposes nearly $6.5B budget half of which goes toward religious schools through the voucher program

[surfered]

4. She may get blowback from rural areas.

In those areas the school is the center of their community, even more so than a church as there are several denominations of churches, but there is only one school.

Granted, I have not read the details of the Arkansas plan, but it’s likely those rural residents know they will not get a charter school in their small community and monies diverted by vouchers or other means to charter schools will reduce the amount of funding for their school.