(The Center Square) – The Arizona Department of Education said that the federal government is providing them a waiver in hopes of getting back $29 million in school improvement and Title I funding for fiscal years 2021 through 2023 following a deadline controversy, as Democrats are requesting an audit.
The Arizona Republic reported that certain money from the federal government was not used in time, and the ADOE argued in a news release afterward that the funds that were “reverted” were from the prior fiscal years in which former Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman was in charge.
“I will always fight for more money for schools, so I am happy to submit this waiver request to the federal government,” Horne stated on Monday. “The under-utilization of about $29 million in federal funds began in Fiscal Year 2020 under the previous superintendent and the employee who incompetently handed these allocations no longer works at this department.”
Horne also suggested it was a former employee from the Hoffman administration that was at fault for the error.
“The mishandling and failure to notify districts of correct allocations with time for them to properly plan and spend the money resulted from an error by an employee of my predecessor before I took office. This person told the schools they had smaller allocations than they had. We were constantly on the phone urging districts to spend as much of the money properly as they could,” he stated last week.
Meanwhile, Gov. Katie Hobbs and state House Democrats are asking the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to investigate back to January 2023 about what possibly went awry for $24 million.
“It is unconscionable that Superintendent Horne has let tens of millions of dollars disappear from our schools—critical federal funding that helps students succeed,” Hobbs said in a statement on Monday. “I sincerely hope that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee takes up this investigation and finds out what happened to these resources. Our kids deserve better.”
However, Horne said that the governor is “repeating false allegations” when he believes the blame should be placed on the prior superintendent.
The ADOE said in a letter to the Republic that the other $5 million “had no notice those funds had not been spent until the schools’ end of year report to the department.”
In the letter, House Democratic Whip Nancy Gutierrez wrote that the situation led to major cuts at schools.
“The Department explained several months ago that Title I allocations were lower this year due in large part to grant funding reductions at the federal level,” she wrote. “Since a portion of Title I grants go toward school improvement, those funds decreased as well. The reductions were so significant – and the Department announced them so late in the fiscal year – that school districts and charter schools were forced to make last-minute cuts to summer programming and employee positions in order to remain within their budgets.”
Title I funding is federal money directed to schools with large numbers or high percentages of students from low-income families.
Phoenix Republican Rep. Matt Gress, who chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, told The Center Square that he’s “conferring with the auditor general on the best course of action.”
“ADE is currently being audited as part of the FY 2023 auditing schedule, and Title I funds are included in the scope of that audit,” Gress stated.
