Horne calls for Azcentral / Arizona Republic to retract false story about federal funds

For immediate release: August 6, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
 

Horne calls for Azcentral / Arizona Republic to retract false story about federal funds

Information was withheld showing errors began prior to Horne taking office

PHOENIX – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne has sent a letter to the News Director of Azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic demanding the retraction of a story falsely blaming the Horne administration for the reversion of $29 million in federal funds.

The letter states, in part, “The story is false, and the reporter responsible for writing it dishonestly and, apparently with intent, withheld information given to him in advance of the story that clearly shows the story is false. This is unacceptable and cannot stand.

In an email from our communications director to Nick Sullivan at 9:41 a.m. on Friday, August 2 - three days prior to the story’s publication - your reporter was told, “The reverted funds represent federal school improvement dollars allocated in federal Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022 during the prior department administration. (That means the dollars had to be allocated by July 1, 2022, before I took office.) …

That should have either been the end of the story, or at least placed the responsibility on the administration that was in office at the time these errors were made. Instead, your publication printed a story claiming that my administration caused this problem, which is absolutely false.”

A full copy of the letter is attached.

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