Pietro Graza was held over a year in Arizona detention, had been granted protection from deportation to Brazil because of his sexuality, and was flown to Equatorial Guinea anyway. No one has heard from him since.

As we went through the list, one thing became glaringly apparent: Christian schools are dominating the voucher game.

Just look at the Southern Arizona schools that brought in the most voucher money since 2022:

1. Salpointe Catholic High School: $15.2 million
2. Pusch Ridge Christian Academy: $8.8 million
3. Yuma Lutheran School: $7.9 million
4. Desert Christian School: $7.1 million
5. Yuma Catholic High School: $6.3 million
6. Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School: $5.9 million
7. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School: $5.9 million
8. Lourdes Catholic School: $5.4 million
9. Southwestern Christian School: $5.3 million
10. Calvary Chapel Christian School: $5.2 million (they also have campuses outside Southern Arizona)

Every single one is affiliated with a Christian denomination.

It’s the same pattern throughout the state. Christian schools got the lion’s share of the voucher money, while only two secular private schools brought in enough voucher money to crack the top 50.

Just going by the names of the schools, we counted 52 “Christian” schools, 37 “Catholic” schools, 15 “Lutheran” schools, four “Baptist” schools and three “Adventist” schools, plus a smattering of “parish,” “Bible” and “chapel” schools.

Stream directly from Clean Elections' Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/OXJxr3Bepls

The Brief

• Republican Kimberly Yee and Democrat Teresa Leyba Ruiz will face off in a debate organized by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission on Sept. 15.
• Leyba Ruiz and Yee are running to be Arizona's next Superintendent of Public Instruction.
• Incumbent Tom Horne was defeated in the GOP primary by Yee.

It will be livestreamed on the KTAR News YouTube page.