PHOENIX – Attorney General Mayes today issued the following statement in response to Superintendent Horne's threats to withhold federal funds from the Kyrene School District.
Last week, Superintendent Horne threatened to withhold more than $1.5 million in federal funding from the Kyrene School District—not because the district broke any laws, but because it proposed a policy that signaled the Districts' commitment to creating a kind, empathetic and respectful workplace. Superintendent Horne cited no legal basis for his threat— because, in fact, there is none.
The funding he’s threatening to block supports low-income students, teacher training, and other classroom programs. Rather than do his job and ensure that funds appropriated by Congress and the Legislature reach Arizona schools—as the law requires—Superintendent Horne is choosing to engage in ideological nonsense at the expense of students and teachers.
Arizona schools should, as always, follow all applicable state and federal laws. But they should feel free to ignore baseless, politicized threats from the State Superintendent’s office, which has no legitimate role whatsoever in blocking the distribution of these federal funds.
