Arizona voters united on public education, want elected leaders to do more to support schools
Oct. 9
Arizona voters aren’t as divided in their support of public education as political banter and debates may lead on, according to data from a recent report.
A new report found that public education remains a top priority for voters across party lines with 83% responding they agreed with the statement: “I continue to support public education in Arizona. Public schools play an important role in creating opportunity for students, strengthening our economy, and supporting strong communities.”
The new report came from three collaborating organizations.
The Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) and Education Forward Arizona (EFA) are two nonpartisan groups that worked together to discuss key findings in their individualized polls. The goal of collecting the information was to learn more about what Arizonans want surrounding education.
The groups partnered with HighGround, an organization with more than a decade of experience in conducting bipartisan public opinion polls.
Ricardo Lopez Valencia is the Senior Vice President of Education and Work Alignment for Education Forward Arizona.
“Voters want stronger student outcomes (and want) more Arizonans with education and training after high school, and accountability and transparency for every public dollar, ” Lopez Valencia said during a meeting.
Group leaders said based on the data, Arizonans actually agree more than they disagree, when it comes to education.
Approximately 78% of voters agreed that Arizona’s elected leaders are not doing enough to improve K-12 public education. Voters who agreed came from all age groups and party affiliations.
The recent data is part of the Center for the Future of Arizona’s 2026 Arizona Voters’ Agenda, which outlines what voters want to see prioritized around a variety of issues.
CFA collects data and research on a variety of topics including education, the economy and infrastructure to gather insight on what’s important to voters. EFA’s mission is to advocate for every person to have access to high-quality education and to help strengthen the state’s workforce.
Arizona voters across party lines agree on education priorities:
- Early childhood education – 79% of voters support access to affordable, high-quality education for three-and four-year-olds.
- Education and training after high school – 96% of voters want Arizonans to gain job skills and credentials through community colleges and workforce training.
- Accountability for public funds – 90% of voters agree that schools receiving public funds should be required to report student outcomes and performance.
- Student foundations and skills – 98% of voters agree students need to learn strong reading, writing, and math skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability.
Paul Bentz is the Senior Vice President of Research and Strategy at HighGround. He said the data from the polling proves that voters aren’t as polarized and divided on education as it may seem, when looking at political candidates spar over issues such as school vouchers.
“But 63%, nearly two-thirds, said they would rather elect leaders who develop practical solutions to Arizona’s biggest challenges, even if they don’t agree with those leaders on every issue,” Bentz said.
Arizonans want accountability for ESA program
When it came to questions regarding the Empowerment Account Scholarship program, also known as ESAs, the majority of voters agreed over accountability measures.
An overwhelming 86% of voters said they would support annual independent financial audits of the ESA program.
Additionally, 82% of voters support regular reports on ESA students, such as reading and math scores, graduation rates and college enrollment. Currently, private and home schools that accept ESAs aren’t required to report student performances or outcomes.
A majority of voters also said they supported strict control on how ESA families use the funding and 72% said they would support a separate board to manage the ESA program. When asked about whether there should be household income limits for ESAs, it had the least support with 66%, but leaders said it showed strong support for income caps.
Sybil Francis is the President and CEO of CFA and said the data is a representation of how important education is to the lives of Arizonans and their communities.
Arizona consistently ranks at the bottom when it comes to public education and the results from the report shows voters find this concerning.
“Arizonans have given leaders a clear and comprehensive education agenda, and action is overdue,” Francis said in a press release. “There are still too many gaps between what Arizonans want and the outcomes we are seeing. Leaders have a responsibility to explain how they will close those gaps and follow through in their actions.”
Reporting by “Arizona Horizon” Education Solutions Reporter Roxanne De La Rosa. Her role is made possible through grant funding from the Arizona Local News Foundation’s Arizona Community Collaborative Fund and Report for America.
