KINGMAN – A local microschool administrator spoke in favor of participation in extracurricular activities by those enrolled in Arizona’s new education voucher program. The comments were made during the public comment portion of Kingman Unified School District’s monthly school board meeting on Tuesday, March 11.
Dr. Catherine Normoyle is the administrator of Marvelous Microschool, a Kingman-area schoolthat is accredited with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and can accept students under the state’s new voucher program.
The Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program was created by legislation passed in 2022 and signed by then-Governor Doug Ducey. Under the program, students are eligible to receive up to 90% of the funds that might otherwise go to that student’s school district.
Dr. Normoyle urged the KUSD school board to allow ESA students to participate in extracurricular activities that occur at KUSD public schools. Presently, the law allows public school districts to determine if and how they wish to allow ESA students to participate.
The ADE created a Parent Handbook to explain expectations and requirements of the ESA program to parents. According to the current Parent Handbook, a student’s ESA contract will be terminated if he or she enrolls in a public or charter school. The handbook also says that this includes, “summer school, any services such as speech services, or extra-curricular activities.”
The draft handbook for the upcoming 2025-2026 year includes extra-curricular activities as an approved ESA expense, but reminds parents that the public school has discretion on whether to accept ESA students at all. This is what Dr. Normoyle wants the school board to consider doing.
“Each student is going to learn differently and deserves to have an education that fits their needs and learning style,” says Dr. Normoyle. Regarding extracurricular activities, Dr. Normoyle says she is not opposed to conditions, such as ESA students paying additional fees or having to sign waivers for insurance purposes.
The ESA program was controversial ever since it was passed along party lines in Arizona’s legislature. Proponents argue that it provides more options to parents and gives them greater control over their child’s education. Opponents say it drains school district resources, experiences waste and abuse, and has already gotten too expensive.
On March 5, Governor Katie Hobbs’ Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting sent an updated budget to the legislature. The reason for the update, according to a press release, was a spike in ESA spending. The release says that ESA spending is expected to exceed $1 billion in FY2026.
Hobbs criticized the ESA program in the press release and argued that Republicans opposed necessary supplemental spending on Arizonans with disabilities.
“The legislative majority continues to use Arizonans with disabilities as their political pawns, even as they refuse to put commonsense guardrails on their favorite entitlement program,” she said in the release. “While they fight to protect the right of the 1% to spend taxpayer dollars on luxury car driving lessons, ski resort passes, and grand pianos, they’re refusing to fund life-saving programs that support the health and independence of the more than 50,000 Arizonans who rely on the Division of Developmental Disabilities.”
Meanwhile, ADE’s report says that 18.5 percent of students enrolled in the ESA program have a disability, and just over half of them have autism—8,101 out of 15,413.
According to Disability Rights Arizona, an advocacy group for people and children with disabilities, a student that accepts an ESA scholarship is no longer protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). These rights include the right to file a complaint with ADE regarding IDEA violations that are committed by vendors providing ESA services.
The governor’s statement about ski resort passes is referring to a letter sent from her office to Superintendent Horne at the ADE. The letter criticized Horne’s decision to “rubber stamp” any purchase that is $2,000 or less to get through the ESA program’s backlog of 89,000 reimbursement requests.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes also brought charges last year against five people accused of defrauding the ESA program—three of which were former ADE employees.
Nevertheless, according to the ESA Program’s report to Congress, 83,819 students statewide are presently enrolled in the ESA program as of the second quarter of FY2025. The total amount awarded on an annualized basis so far is just over $860 million. The average scholarship amount is between $7,000 and $8,000.
Kingman-area schools that accept ESA applications include the parochial schools Emmanual Christian and St. Lion of Judah. There are also nearly a dozen microschools in the Kingman School District, including Marvelous Microschool.
