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In light of mounting reports of alleged waste, fraud, and a stunning lack of oversight in Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, Education Forward Arizona once again calls for immediate and meaningful reforms that assure accountability and transparency for the outcomes families and the state deserve.

Students who earn their bachelor’s degree from an Arizona university triple their earning potential compared to those with a high school diploma, according to the advocacy group Education Forward Arizona.

“Many students are dependent on Pell Grants to make education and training after high school affordable,” said Rich Nickel, president and CEO of Education Forward Arizona. “As Arizona continues to increase investments in state-based financial aid programs, it’s critical that Arizona’s students can count on a robust federal Pell Grant …

“As cost is the No.1 barrier in (getting to college) as told to us by students, we feel pretty good about where Pell grants landed,” Rich Nickel, CEO of Education Forward Arizona said.  The nonprofit includes a focus on the Achieve60AZ college attainment goal, which aims to get 60% of working Arizonans a college …

Education Forward Arizona, which advocates for education improvements throughout the state, called for the immediate release of all allocated federal funds. It said the funds are not luxuries, but rather essential investments in the future of Arizona’s students. Without them, the organization stated, schools could face hardships that would put …