Funding should follow outcomes, not institutions. A building is not entitled to a child. A child is entitled to a path. When we write a budget, we should ask what the student can do: read, calculate, finish a credential, hold a job, pass the civics requirement. Schools that deliver those results deserve support in whatever setting the family chooses. Schools that do not should not be made whole by locking the child in place.

Most Arizona children still sit in district and charter classrooms. Those schools have to work. That means two outcomes, not one test score. First, skill: reading, math, trades, apprenticeships, and career and technical education that already graduate students at far higher rates than the statewide average. College is one path. It is not the only one. Second, citizenship: civics that is taught and required, not treated as an elective after the résumé items.

I will not vote to dismantle Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, and I will not pretend public schools are optional. Fraud and luxury spending do not belong on a scholarship. Accountability that is really a backdoor repeal does not belong either. Fund the student. Staff the program so it can be administered effectively. Keep the door open for the child who needs a different school.

A House member does not pick a child’s school. A House member’s job is to make sure every child has a path to becoming a skilled citizen, and that parents are trusted to help choose the education that gets them there.