LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — 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.
Sanders’ proposal calls for increasing funding for the state’s education freedom accounts, created under an education overhaul signed into law last year, by $90 million to $187 million. She also proposed setting aside $90 million in surplus funds as a reserve for the program, which will be fully phased in the 2025-2026 school year.
The freedom account program pays for private and home-school expenses. More than 14,000 participants were funded this school year. About 39,600 participants would be funded in the 2025-2026 school year, with the increased funding, Department of Education spokesperson Kimberly Mundell said.
Critics of the voucher program expressed skepticism about whether the state can sustain its growth without harming public schools.
“If we don’t watch what we’re doing, we’re going to wind up paying more on a per-student basis to private schools than we’re giving to public schools,” Republican Rep. Jim Wooten told finance officials appearing before the committee after Sanders’ presentation.
Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson defended the plan, saying the vouchers and public schools are being funded from different sources.
“Yes, we can do both at the same time, one without harming the other,” Hudson told Wooten.
Sanders’ budget also calls for $13 million in new Medicaid funding to pay for proposals issued by a panel she formed to address maternal health. The budget plan would also set aside $100 million of the state’s surplus for Medicaid.
During her brief remarks, Sanders did not say whether she planned to seek another round of tax cuts in next year’s session. The majority-Republican Legislature has approved three income tax cuts pushed by Sanders since she took office last year.
Legislative leaders said they expected to wait until after next year’s session to discuss additional cuts.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to rush out this legislative session to do anything. I think it’s prudent to wait on the income tax discussion,” said Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang, who co-chairs the Joint Budget Committee.
Sanders’ budget proposes an additional $50 million for the Department of Corrections, with $40 million of it going toward a $1.6 billion, 10-year contract with its medical provider. Another $9 million in additional funding goes toward the state’s reimbursement to county jails holding Arkansas prisoners.
Sanders has proposed building a 3,000-bed prison, and the Board of Corrections approved the Franklin County site for the facility despite objections from some residents and leaders. The proposed budget doesn’t include money for the prison, and officials have said more than $400 million is already available for the project.
The governor proposed $3 million for a plan to raise pay for thousands of state employees. A plan to overhaul the state employee pay system is estimated to cost $102 million, and Sanders has said it can funded through savings such as existing vacancies.
The top Democrat in the House said he was concerned about the budget relying on one-time funds for ongoing needs, and the amount of money going toward vouchers that could go to other needs.
“It’s a missed opportunity,” House Minority Leader Andrew Collins said.
