Horne corrects false information about federal funds in letter from legislators

For immediate release: April 9, 2024
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Horne corrects false information about federal funds in letter from legislators

State schools chief Tom Horne is responding to state legislators who made inaccurate assertions in a letter about the Department of Education’s disbursement of federal education dollars.

Here is his statement:

“We received a letter from six Democrat legislators, including the minority whip, stating the following: ‘In light of recent information about the Arizona Department of Education’s plan to withhold federal funding allocations to Title I schools…’ That is a false statement. The Department of Education never had, and never would have, a plan to withhold federal funding allocations. The Department of Education‘s sole role is to distribute funds that come in from the federal government according to a formula received from the federal government and we are doing that.

If it were up to us, we would increase Title I funding. The letter is unnecessarily insulting in lecturing us on the importance of Title I funds, and we at the department spend a lot more time on helping schools improve academic results for high poverty students than anyone in the legislature. Where they get the audacity to lecture us on the importance of Title I funding is beyond me.

In estimates that were clearly marked as preliminary, we estimated 20 percent less based on what we were hearing about possible cuts in Title I funding, and a significant cut in Arizona’s share because of decreasing levels of poverty compared to other states. It was clear for anyone bothering to read the email that that was preliminary only. The schools will have the actual numbers before the end of this week. That will be in plenty of time to avoid any negative impact of the preliminary numbers.

We will, of course, furnish all the information that the letter requests. We always do that. There was no need to send an irrationally insulting letter.”

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