¶ Overview
During 2026 budget negotiations, Petersen refused to compromise with Governor Katie Hobbs on renewing the state’s public school funding mechanism, Proposition 123. Prop 123 gave $300 million annually to the school system from the state land trust, but had expired after 10 years and needed voter approval to be renewed. Petersen said Hobbs’ plan to renew Prop 123 was “irresponsible and risky,” but did not provide an alternative means for school funding. Additionally, Petersen refused to participate in discussions on Arizona’s public school capital finance system after it was ruled unconstitutional for disadvantaging schools in lower income areas. Petersen instead appealed the ruling while Arizona schools faced infrastructure failures.
Petersen was also an advocate for charter schools even when their students were underperforming. When the Arizona Charter School Board threatened to revoke the charter of Primavera, an online charter school, Petersen called the inquiry a “witch hunt” even though the students were performing significantly below state averages. Instead, Petersen supported reclassifying Primavera as an “alternative school,” which had lower academic standards.
Petersen called himself a “longtime champion of school choice,” celebrated allowing parents to opt their children out of sex education, and supported education savings accounts as a means to save taxpayers money, but opposed giving teachers a $200 tax credit for buying school supplies.
¶ Petersen Refused To Address Funding Issues In Arizona’s Public School System
¶ Petersen Opposed Renewing Proposition 123, Which Provided Schools $300 Million Annually From The State Land Trust
¶ Petersen Criticized Hobbs’ Plan To Renew Proposition 123 As “Irresponsible And Risky,” But Did Not Propose An Alternative
2026: Petersen Opposed Hobbs’ Plan To Renew Proposition 123 During Budget Negotiations Because “Depending On A Statewide Vote To Pass The Budget Is Irresponsible And Risky,” But Did Not Propose An Alternative. According to the Arizona Republic, “Republican leaders said they support funding for K-12 education, but were hesitant to tie land trust negotiations to the budget negotiation process. A Proposition 123 replacement would have to win voters' approval on the ballot. ‘Changes to the land trust are complicated and would need voter approval. Depending on a statewide vote to pass the budget is irresponsible and risky,’ Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro said in a joint statement. It's unclear what the GOP's current proposal to replace the lapsed education funding is.” [Arizona Republic, 3/30/26]
¶ Proposition 123 Expired After 10 Years And Needed Voter Approval To Be Renewed
2025: Proposition 123 Expired 10 Years After Voters Approved The Plan To Fund Arizona’s K-12 Education System With $300 Million Annually From The State Land Trust And Needed Voter Approval To Be Renewed. According to the Arizona Republic, “Hobbs' office on March 20 called off budget negotiations, saying GOP leaders ‘refused to engage in serious negotiations.’ The stalemate freezes what little conversations were happening between the two parties on the state's budget and puts a plan to renew hundreds of millions in education funding on ice. The 10-year funding plan, known as Proposition 123, was approved by voters in 2016 to siphon roughly $300 million annually from the state's land trust to support Arizona's K-12 education system. The funding lapsed last June, with money to cover the difference coming out of the state's general fund instead. [...] A Proposition 123 replacement would have to win voters' approval on the ballot.” [Arizona Republic, 3/30/26]
¶ Petersen Appealed Rather Than Addressing A Court Order That Found Arizona’s Public School Capital Finance System Unconstitutional
¶ Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia Said Petersen’s Appeal Was “Kicking The Can” On Addressing Aging School Facilities
2026: Petersen Appealed A Court Order Rather Than Negotiating A Settlement For Arizona’s Public School Capital Finance System, Which Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia Said Was “Kicking The Can” On Addressing Aging School Facilities. According to State Affairs, “Instead of overhauling the public school capital finance system, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro have appealed the court order that found the current school facilities funding system to be unconstitutional. [...] On March 13, Petersen and Montenegro filed a notice of appeal to the Arizona Court of Appeals. The appeal delays any fix, even as the eight-month clock on aging school facilities keeps running. Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, a plaintiff in the case, said the hope was originally to sit down to iron out a settlement rather than litigate. ‘All of us were very disappointed in the fact that the leaders, the speaker as well as the Senate President, made the decision to file the appeal. It's kicking the can,’ Garcia said.” [State Affairs, 3/18/26]
¶ A Judge Ordered The Arizona Legislature To “Fix The School Facilities Funding Failures Within Eight Months” Because It Disadvantaged Schools In Lower Income Areas
2025: Judge Fox Dewain Ruled Arizona’s Capital Funding System Violated The State Constitution Because It Disadvantaged “Schools Without The Tax Base, Property Wealth Or Voter Appetite To Pass Bonds For Capital Projects,” And “Ordered The Legislature To Fix The School Facilities Funding Failures Within Eight Months.” According to State Affairs, “Since 2017, a group of school districts and education advocates has pursued a legal judgment finding the current capital funding system disadvantages schools without the tax base, property wealth or voter appetite to pass bonds for capital projects, leaving some districts with infrastructure failures that last months, if not years. In a ruling last August, Judge Fox Dewain agreed, ruling the state had failed to ‘enact such laws as shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a general and uniform public school system,’ in violation of the state constitution. Dewain entered a final judgment on March 3 and ordered the legislature to fix the school facilities funding failures within eight months, though he noted the likelihood of appeal and entered a stay to allow the legislature time to take the case up the ladder.” [State Affairs, 3/18/26]
¶ Petersen Defended An Underperforming Charter School Owned By A Multi-Millionaire
¶ The Arizona Charter Schools Board Threatened To Revoke Primavera Online School’s Charter Due To Its Student Performing Significantly Lower Than State Averages
March 2025: The Arizona State Board For Charter Schools Intended To Revoke Primavera’s Charter After A State Assessment Showed Only Nine Percent Of Primavera Students Were Proficient In Math And 23 Percent Proficient In English Language Arts, Compared To Statewide Averages Of 32 And 40 Percent, Respectively. According to ABC15 Arizona, “The Primavera online charter school is facing an uncertain future after the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools sent a notice of intent to revoke its charter in a meeting Tuesday due to low academic results. The school is also known as the American Virtual Academy, a tuition-free online school. According to a report in the meeting, the average number of students the charter had is around 7,000 for the last few fiscal years. A state assessment last year shows that only 9% of Primavera’s students were proficient in math compared to the 32% statewide average. Twenty-three percent of students were proficient in English Language Arts compared to the 40% statewide average.” [ABC15 Arizona, 3/5/25]
¶ Petersen Called To “End The Witch Hunt” Against Primavera After It Was Reclassified As An “Alternative” School With Lower Academic Standards
May 2025: Petersen Called To “End The Witch Hunt” Against The Primavera School After Arizona Superintendent Of Public Instruction Tom Horne “Issued A Letter Certifying That Primavera Is A Performing Alternative School.” According to Petersen’s Twitter, “Thousands of parents choose to send their kids to Primavera. They provide options to students and parents that have allowed many to graduate who otherwise would not. Recently @RealTomHorne issued a letter certifying that Primavera is a performing alternative school. Time to end the witch hunt.”
[Twitter, @votewarren, 5/7/25]
¶ Reclassifying As An Alternative School Gave Primavera Three Consecutive “C” Grades Rather Than Three “D” Grades
The Charter School Board Accused Horne Of “Retroactively Reclassifying Primavera From A Traditional School To An Alternative School,” Which Had Lower Academic Standards, Giving The School Three Consecutive “C” Grades Instead Of Three “D” Grades. According to 12 News, “But in a surprising turn of events, Primavera has been given a lifeline — thanks to an intervention from Republican State Schools Chief Tom Horne. […] Horne, however, later allowed Primavera to privately meet with his staff and present new records to his office. The board accused Horne of taking the ‘unprecedented steps of retroactively reclassifying Primavera from a traditional school to an alternative school, reopening prior-year data, and allowing the submission of additional information.’ That was key because traditional charter schools are evaluated under higher academic measures, while alternative schools, which typically serve higher-risk or non-traditional student populations, are evaluated with different performance expectations. […] But Charter Board officials on Tuesday said Horne's intervention resulted in the Department of Education indicating the school would have received three Alternative ‘C’ grades instead of three ‘D’ grades under the traditional model.” [12 News, 4/7/26]
¶ Primavera’s Owner Paid Himself $24 Million While The School Received Four “Falls Far Below Standard” Scores
2017-2025: Primavera’s Multi-Millionaire Owner Damian Creamer Paid Himself $24 Million While The School Received The Charter Board’s Worst Score, “Falls Far Below Standard,” Four Times. According to 12 News, “For more than a year, Arizona’s largest online charter school, Primavera, and its multi-millionaire owner, Damian Creamer, faced the very real possibility of being shut down. […] The controversy surrounding Primavera intensified following a 12News investigation early last year. The 12News Investigates report in February 2025 revealed that the school’s owner, Creamer, had paid himself $24 million since 2017. At the same time, the school consistently underperformed academically as the Charter Board gave Primavera its worst annual rating four times: Falls Far Below Standard. Two times, Primavera got the second-worst rating: Does Not Meet Standard. The free-wheeling at Primavera is a byproduct of Arizona’s loosely regulated charter school industry that allows owners to make as much money as possible for years with public funds.” [12 News, 4/7/26]
¶ Petersen Advocated For “School Choice,” “Parental Choice,” And Education Savings Accounts
¶ Petersen Called Himself “A Longtime Champion Of School Choice”
Petersen Called Himself “A Longtime Champion Of School Choice” And Said Democrats “Just Want To Give Kids One Choice,” While Republicans Wanted To Give Kids “As Many Educational Choices As Possible.” According to Petersen on FOX 10: John Hook’s Newsmaker, “Yeah, well, I've been a champion of school choice. A longtime champion of school choice at the Capitol. I want parents to decide. If parents want to go to district schools, charter schools, ESAs. You know, the folks on the other side of the aisle, they just want to give kids one choice. We want to give kids, you know, all choices, as many educational choices as possible.” [FOX 10: John Hook’s Newsmaker, 4/4/26] (VIDEO)
¶ Petersen Celebrated Parents Being Allowed To Opt Their Children Out Of Sex Education
2025: Petersen Celebrated The Supreme Court Ruling Requiring Public Schools To “Give Parents Proper Notice On Teaching Their Children About Gender And Sexuality” And “Provide Parents The Opportunity To Opt-Out Of This Instruction.” According to Petersen’s Twitter, “Great news for moms and dads today in the fight to protect parental choice! The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public schools must give parents proper notice on teaching their children about gender and sexuality. Schools must also provide parents the opportunity to opt-out of this instruction. Arizona is a national leader for parental choice in education. Republicans at the Arizona Legislature will always support a parent’s right to choose the best learning environment for their children.”
[Twitter, @votewarren, 6/27/25]
¶ Petersen Denied That Education Savings Accounts Caused Taxpayers To Lose Money, And Claimed They Actually Saved Taxpayers Money
Petersen Denied That Education Savings Accounts Caused Taxpayers To Lose Money, And Claimed They Actually Saved Taxpayers Money Because ESAs Paid $7,500 Per Student While District Schools Paid $14,000 Per Student. According to Petersen on FOX 10: John Hook’s Newsmaker, “And when you look at ESAs, another misnomer is taxpayers losing money. Taxpayers save money with the ESAs because, as I mentioned, an ESA is $7,500 per student, a district school is $14,000 per student.” [FOX 10: John Hook’s Newsmaker, 4/4/26] (VIDEO)
¶ Petersen Voted Against Giving Teachers A $200 Tax Credit For Purchasing School Supplies
¶ Petersen Voted Against A Bill That Would Have Given Teachers A $200 Tax Credit For Educational Supplies They Purchase For Use In Their Classroom
March 2016: Petersen Voted Against A Bill That Would Have Given Teachers A $200 Tax Credit For Educational Supplies They Purchase For Use In Their Classroom. In 2016, according to the Arizona State Legislature, Petersen voted against HB 2151, which, “Allows a teacher to receive a tax credit for educational supplies and materials purchased by the teacher and used in the teacher’s classroom. 2. Stipulates the credit is the retail price of the supplies and materials and cannot exceed $200.” HB 2151 passed the state House by a vote of 34-24 but was held in the state Senate. [Arizona State Legislature – HB 2151 (2016), Introduced 1/21/16; Arizona House Vote, 3/1/16]