The Washington Post’s recent article on Arizona school closures offers a textbook example of how to tell a compelling story while omitting the most important — and inconvenient — facts. The piece focuses on the Roosevelt Elementary School District’s decision to close five schools, painting it as a cautionary tale about the dangers of school choice, particularly the expansion of eligibility for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to all children in 2022.

However, the article conveniently ignores details — which we documented months ago —t hat undermine this narrative, including that Roosevelt’s total budget and per-pupil spending have massively increased even as student enrollment has declined, that most of the students fleeing Roosevelt went to other public schools, and that the exodus began long before Arizona‘s ESA program even existed.

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Here is the context the Washington Post left out.

Roosevelt’s funding has increased even as enrollment declined

The narrative about underfunding crumbles under scrutiny. The article claims that the ESA program “has strained the state budget” but Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee reported that “the total combined district/charter/ESA enrollment will generate savings of $(352,200) in FY 2024 relative to the enacted budget.” Indeed, last year, Arizona’s Department of Education had a $4 million surplus.

Moreover, Arizona school districts are at record funding levels, and Roosevelt is no exception. The district’s total spending increased from $111 million in fiscal year 2019 to over $143 million by FY 2022 — a 29% increase even as enrollment dropped 16%.

Roosevelt spends nearly $22,000 per pupil, considerably more than the statewide average of about $15,400. Teachers in the district earn an average of more than $77,000—nearly $12,000 above the state average. The district serves fewer than 17 students per teacher, so overcrowding isn’t the issue either.

Where does all that money go? Administrative bloat is a major factor. The Arizona Auditor General found that Roosevelt spends 50% more on administrative costs per pupil than the state average. This is a management problem, not a funding problem.

Most students living in the Roosevelt district attend other public schools

The report blames the school closures on private school choice options, stating that they are “a response to enrollment declines as the state offers unprecedented taxpayer funding for alternatives to public school.”

But the Roosevelt School District has been hemorrhaging students since 2006 — sixteen years before the ESA program went universal in 2022. The district has lost more than 5,000 students over nearly two decades, including over 1,300 in just the past five years. Indeed, more than half of the K–12 students who live in Roosevelt now attend school somewhere else.

But this isn’t a recent phenomenon caused by school choice expansion; it’s a long-term trend that predates current policy debates.

Here’s what’s really telling: of the roughly 59% of K-12 students who live in the Roosevelt district but don’t attend Roosevelt schools, a staggering 91% attend other public schools. Only about 800 students have used ESAs for private education options, while more than 8,200 students living in the district attend other public district or public charter schools.

It’s especially odd that the Washington Post reporter, Laura Meckler, left out the inter-district transfers from her report. Not only do they comprise the overwhelming majority of the students who left Roosevelt, but one of us emailed her about this fact back in May. Somehow, that relevant fact (which significantly undermines Meckler’s narrative) didn’t make it into her final product.

When called out on social media about this fact, Meckler emailed to say she doesn’t “think the point about interdistrict transfers really changes the narrative.” Readers can decide whether knowing those facts change their opinion about her narrative.

Meckler also claimed she “never implied or meant to imply that this is only a voucher story.” However, the article never even mentioned interdistrict school choice, which is the most popular form of school choice in Arizona. As noted above, the article blamed only “taxpayer funding for alternatives to public school,” not mentioning the alternatives within the traditional public school system at all. Indeed, the article itself was titled: “Public schools are closing as Arizona’s school voucher program soars.”

Meckler’s narrative about her narrative doesn’t withstand scrutiny.

The real story: Academic failure and safety concerns

The Washington Post’s article glosses over the fundamental question every parent asks: Are these good schools? The answer, unfortunately, is a resounding no.

The Post article concedes that only 13% of Roosevelt students passed the statewide math assessment last year. However, it does not provide any context, such as the fact that the passing rate was 32% statewide and 20% in comparable districts. Roosevelt is not only much worse than average, but it’s much worse than districts with similar demographics.

Likewise, in English Language Arts, only 20% of Roosevelt students passed compared to 40% statewide and 28% in peer districts. In science, just 14% of Roosevelt students passed versus 28% statewide and 20% in peer districts. Roosevelt students perform at half the state average or worse across all subjects.

Academic failure tells only part of the story. Parent reviews on GreatSchools.org paint a disturbing picture of the four Roosevelt schools facing closure. The schools average just 2.1 out of 5 stars — and that might be generous, as multiple parents noted they would have given zero stars if possible.

Parents consistently report rampant bullying, inadequate supervision, and teachers who “have no sense of authority.” One parent who graduated from Maxine O. Bush Elementary called the school a “horrible” and “nightmare.” These aren’t isolated complaints — they represent a pattern of dysfunction that no parent should have to accept for their child.

Fortunately, with Arizona’s robust education choice options, they don’t have to accept it.

The system is working as intended

When the Washington Post frames school choice as “diverting funding” from public schools, it misses the fundamental point: public education dollars are meant for students, not systems. When families leave a failing district school for a charter, private school, or another district, the funding follows the child to an environment that works better for them.

That’s not a bug, that’s a feature.

Arizona’s education funding system is designed to be responsive to families’ needs and choices. Districts that fail to serve students well lose enrollment and funding. Districts that succeed attract and retain families. This creates powerful incentives for improvement that benefit all students.

Roosevelt’s leaders can reverse their decline, but only if they’re willing to confront the real problems. That means addressing the culture of dysfunction, raising academic expectations, improving school safety, and giving parents compelling reasons to choose Roosevelt over the many other options available to them.

Arizona is a model for other states

The Washington Post is right that Roosevelt’s experience offers lessons for other states considering school choice expansion — just not the lessons the article intended to convey.

The real lesson is that school choice doesn’t destroy good schools; it reveals which schools were already failing their students and gives families alternatives. Districts that take parents’ concerns about quality and safety seriously and work to address them can thrive in a competitive environment. Those that blame everyone but themselves will continue to lose the very students they claim to serve.

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Arizona’s education system has evolved to empower families rather than protect bureaucracies. Other states would do well to follow Arizona’s lead — and journalists would do well to tell the whole story, not just the parts that fit their preferred narrative.

The real story isn’t about “vouchers” destroying public schools; it’s about empowering parents to escape schools that were already broken.

Jason Bedrick is a Research Fellow in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation.

Matthew Ladner is a Senior Advisor for education policy implementation in Heritage’s Center for Education Policy