Feds lift pause to review grant funds

Horne commits to disbursement as soon as possible

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne has issued the following statement regarding today’s announcement that the federal government will release grant funding that was paused for review.

Horne stated, “The release of federal funds that were being reviewed by the Trump administration is good news and no surprise to me. When the review was announced I noted that the federal government is merely ensuring that the funds are being used appropriately and not for ideological purposes. People need to be assured that their education tax dollars are being used to advance academic goals and not social indoctrination.”

He added, “When the pause occurred, a lot of people panicked thinking the money would go away entirely. I said at the time that this was merely a pause for review and that is exactly what happened. The Arizona Department of Education staff will work very hard to disburse these funds as soon as possible.”

The amount that was withheld under the review was approximately $124 million, or about one percent of overall school funding in Arizona.