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1. Embed this notice
   Chuck Darwin (cdarwin@c.im)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:07:19 JST Chuck Darwin

   in reply to

   When Arizona passed the legislation that allowed for ♦️private (religious) school vouchers♦️
   the program was projected to cost $65 million in 2024 and $125 million in 2025.

   But the most recent estimates put that cost at a staggering $940 million per year,
   more than 1,000 percent of the initial estimate.

   The news of the cost overruns came just a few days after two of the program’s leaders resigned

   A report last month from Brookings Institution, the nonpartisan policy think tank, found that Arizona’s program was disproportionately used by wealthy families
   —even though it was designed to boost the academic achievement of students from families in underserved school districts.

   As it turned out, families in the highest poverty areas were five times less likely than people in the wealthiest areas to use vouchers.  

   • Embed this notice
     Chuck Darwin (cdarwin@c.im)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:07:20 JST Chuck Darwin

     Christian Nationalists Are Opening Private Schools.

     Taxpayers Are Funding Them.

     Trump’s favorite Arizona megachurch has one.

     Trump held his first campaign rally as a convicted felon at 🔸Dream City Church 🔸in Phoenix, Arizona,
     hosted by the arch-conservative student group 💥Turning Point USA. 💥
     This wasn’t Trump’s first appearance at Dream City Church;
     he also held a rally there with Turning Point USA in 2020.

     For events like this, it’s an ideal venue:
     A weekly attendance of around 21,000 believers makes this one of the largestchurches not just in Arizona but in the nation.

     Dream City, is a mecca for special guests who blur the line between religion and politics.
     Its annual conference has featured notables like musician and pastor Sean #Feucht, who participated in a White House prayer session for President Trump in 2019 and is currently leading a tour of prayer rallies at state capitol buildings across the country.
     The lineup for this year’s event also included David #Barton, whose organization,
     💥WallBuilders, 💥teaches K-12 students about the supposed Christian origins of America;
     Jurgen #Mathesius, a pastor at San Diego’s far-right Awaken Church, which has become a stopon Mike #Flynn’s
     💥ReAwaken America 💥tour;
     and Jentezen #Franklin, a televangelist who also spoke at the 2022 💥Pray Vote Stand Summit💥, which mobilizes conservative Christian voters to engage in political activism.

     https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/06/christian-nationalists-are-opening-private-schools-taxpayers-are-funding-them/

     Bill repeated this.