Waste of the Day: Vouchers Bought MacBooks
Topline: The Utah state auditor found “wasteful and extravagant purchases” made with taxpayer-funded school vouchers during the 2024-25 school year, including trampolines, high-end gaming laptops and mountain bikes.
Key facts: Auditors reviewed $17.1 million of the $67.7 million spent with school vouchers. More than half was spent on private school tuition, but there were high expenses for extracurricular activities, furniture, field trips and more.
One family ordered a $6,150 Apple MacBook Pro from Amazon. Eight others bought laptops for more than $4,000.
Six families bought mountain bikes ranging from $2,000 to $6,000. Ten families bought trampolines that cost anywhere from $1,607 to $3,189. Others bought dumbbell racks and Peloton bikes, each costing more than $1,000.
Expensive exercise was not limited to home gyms. There were 115 students that spent more than $800 each to register for sports lessons, including two families that spent $5,000 on volleyball tournaments.
The fitness purchases would be illegal today under new guidelines that limit physical education purchases to 20% of a child’s school voucher. But that law was not in place for the 2024-25 school year.
Parents decorated their kids’ homeschool lessons with 943 furniture items worth $220,189. Purchases included a $3,094 desk and bookshelf set, and a $1,930 woodworking table.
Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com.
Background: State legislators revamped the Utah Fits All scholarship program last year after finding that some of its expenses “did not align” with any “educational purpose.” They banned spending on furniture, clothing, playground equipment, skiing, musical instruments and more, but still increased the program’s annual budget to $100 million.
Families can only buy electronics once every three years, but there is no dollar limit.
A district court ruled last year that the Utah Fits All program is an unconstitutional use of state income tax dollars that, under the Utah constitution, can only be spent on public education, universities, or social services for children. However, the program is still operational while the state appeals the ruling.
Summary: School vouchers can offer educational freedom to families when implemented with proper oversight, but taxpayer dollars should only be used on expenses that legitimately support education.
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