Gov. Janet Napolitano reached out to the business and philanthropic communities Monday to seek support and possibly money for all-day kindergartens and other education, health and family programs. The appeal came as the Arizona Legislature faces a $1 billion gap in next year's state budget and, far from considering new programs, is looking at cutting education and child-care funding.

State lawmakers refused Thursday to limit taxpayer-funded scholarships for private schools to the poor and the middle class.

Cheryl McAlister has talked to the parents, seen their faces and knows they’re struggling. Enrollment at Queen Creek’s Calvary Christian School started at 120 students this year. It’s now at about 100.

A state law that gives tax dollars to private and parochial schools to educate youngsters is illegal, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

A private school in Glendale is heavily recruiting in Scottsdale and other Valley cities for its new high school location. And one of the school's selling points is private coach bus service, complete with wireless Internet access.

Mary Zimmerer crunched the numbers and figured it would cost nearly $17,000 to send her four sons to Catholic schools this year. It’s a steep price for Mary and her husband, Matt, who are both educators.

For a small, private school such as Chandler Valley Christian, image is everything. So when the Trojans had to forfeit three games last week for using a player who had some unresolved eligibility issues, the folks at Valley Christian took it hard.

Food City, Bashas’ and Fry’s grocery stores, Target, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Sonic, Papa John’s Pizza, Skippy’s restaurant, Cold Stone Creamery, Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza . . . and the list goes on.

Food City, Bashas’ and Fry’s grocery stores, Target, Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Sonic, Papa John’s Pizza, Skippy’s restaurant, Cold Stone Creamery, Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza . . . and the list goes on.

Cindy Risinger, who formerly taught at Tempe’s Bethany Christian School, was selected winner of the 2011-2012 AZCAPE (Arizona Affiliate Council for American Private Education) Private Education Teacher of the Year Award for preschool through third grade. Risinger was among 270 nominees in the different categories. Winners were announced this week during an event in Phoenix.

Bethany Christian School, a private, Christian school in Tempe, is offering three half-off tuition vouchers for new students entering grades one through three through an on-air campaign with KPXQ (AM1360).

A new law signed this week by Gov. Jan Brewer could give an estimated 100,000 children in Arizona schools a check from the state to go to a private or parochial school instead.

The Legislature recently cut K-12 spending by nearly $200 million for the next fiscal year. It comes on top of a multi-year mugging of state support for public education. Five years ago, state K-12 funding was $650 million higher than it is this year.

Saying it "unbalances the budget,'' Gov. Jan Brewer on Tuesday vetoed a bid to sharply increase the amount of money individuals and corporations could divert from paying the state to instead help students attend private and parochial schools.

State lawmakers want voters to repeal a constitutional provision that now keeps public funds from going to aid private and parochial schools.

The Arizona attorney general has sent letters to 19 of the state’s nonprofit school tuition organizations asking them to explain why they didn’t spend 90 percent of donations on scholarships for private school students as required by law.