Horne issues rebuttal to Governor’s false accusations

For immediate release: September 8, 2023
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Horne issues rebuttal to Governor’s false accusations

PHOENIX – State schools chief Tom Horne has issued to following statement in response to a letter sent today by the governor regarding the dispersal of federal Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) funds.

Horne stated, “Every word in the governor’s letter is a lie, including ‘the’ and ‘and.’

Due to her own actions, the governor now needs to take care of this problem, and not pass the buck to the Department of Education inasmuch as she arranged for the federal government to change the fiscal agent from the Department of Education to the governor. The governor arranged with the federal government to be the fiscal agent for this program for private schools. The Arizona Department of Education has no ability to pay anyone for work done, or to authorize further work, because the governor has now become the fiscal agent.

The governor’s statement about money that should be spent in education to educate children is hypocritical. One of her first acts in office was to take away $75 million that had been allocated for summer school to help students improve in reading and math. She also took away $17 million from Project Momentum, the school improvement project, which has shown itself to be the most effective in helping schools improve.

It was the Arizona Department of Education, out of the funds that are in its budget, that gave $10 million to Project Momentum because the governor’s attempt to destroy Project Momentum would’ve done terrible damage to students who in schools that need to have the benefits of school improvement.

We will follow up with a detailed letter, refuting each false claim in the governor’s letter.”

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