PHOENIX - Last-minute efforts to craft a deal to avoid a ballot fight over vouchers fell apart late Monday as Republican gubernatorial hopeful Andy Biggs was inserted into the fight.
Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan said she and other Democratic Party leaders had engaged in good-faith negotiations with House Speaker Steve Montenegro to quash a plan by the Arizona Education Association to ask voters to impose new restrictions on what are formally known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. Those range from who are eligible for the vouchers - about $7,500 a year - to how the cash can be spent.
In exchange, the Republicans would rescind sending three measures disliked by Democrats to the November ballot.
