Horne: Schools calling for more safety dollars, legislature and governor must act

Unprecedent volume of requests for officers, counselors

PHOENIX – Citing an unprecedented volume of requests from schools, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is urging state lawmakers and Governor Hobbs to approve legislation that would add at least $40 million to the current school safety program.

The recent deadline to accept new school safety grant requests resulted in schools asking for a total of 801 counselors or social workers and 743 officers totaling nearly $187 million. Under the current program, there are a total of 588 counselors and social workers and 498 armed officers funded at 1,155 locations statewide.

Horne said, “When I took office in 2023, there were 117 armed officers under the School Safety Program and I have ensured that number has risen to nearly 500. My biggest nightmare is that an armed maniac gets onto a school campus and kills people. Just a few weeks ago a heroic principal in Oklahoma subdued an armed gunman at a school and was wounded in the process. While we praise his actions, having unarmed teachers be the first line of defense is not acceptable. Therefore, I am urging state lawmakers to pass, and the governor to sign, legislation that adds $40 million to the safety program. But the need is substantially greater which means appropriating an even higher amount would be ideal.”

He added, “The reverse is also true. Due to the way the law is written, if the program does not get added funding, there will still be enough money to ensure the current number of school resource and safety officers remain, but no new officers can be added and funding for counselors and social workers will be lost. That scenario must be avoided.”