State Representative Matt Gress (R-Scottsdale) is joining the new School Safety Task Force recently established by the Arizona Department of Education.
This follows Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne inviting Gress to join the task force which evaluates funding gaps and statutory limitations as well as makes recommendations to build upon the integrity of the Arizona Department of Education’s school safety program.
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As a new administration takes over operations for the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), led by Superintendent Tom Horne (R), it appears they are swamped with a massive backlog of Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) requests leftover by the former administration of Kathy Hoffman (D). Christine Accurso, an advocate for ESAs, is now the program’s executive director and is shacking up how the office tackles requests to deal with the backlog.
“Our team is processing expense requests in sections, by category so that we can get through them efficiently and effectively. In the past the requests were processed in the order they were received. We are working on new processes to use going forward, as we work through the backlog,” Accurso said in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.
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Counties across Arizona have finished counting votes for the 2022 General Election, but several races remain too close to call and are within range of an automatic recount, including the highly contested race for Arizona Attorney General.
“We’re not done fighting and we are optimistic the recount will further expose the gross incompetence and mismanagement by Maricopa County officials that disenfranchised and silenced the voices of so many Arizona voters,” tweeted Abe Hamadeh, the Republican nominee for the position.
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The Arizona Department of Education announced it would award $15.3 million in funding for programs to improve the education quality it offers low-income and first-generation Americans.
“Parents deserve easy access to resources that help their children achieve their full potential,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman said in a press release. “I know students and parents need more direct support when it comes to educational services outside of the classroom. These organizations are well prepared to support students and families and will help foster higher student achievement.”
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Some Arizona school officials are in a feud with Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Legislature over implementing mandatory mask policies, but some of those officials have been caught not wearing masks themselves. Arizona Superintendent of Schools Kathy Hoffman, a Democrat, was spotted not wearing one along with others at a baby shower. Not a single person present had a mask on or was social distancing. Amphitheater Public Schools, which mandated masks on August 16, posted a photo of their Communications Director Michelle Valenzuela, posing without a mask on, clearly standing within a couple of feet of the photographer. They deleted the tweet.
Ducey is confident the school mask mandates will not hold up in court. He said earlier in August, “COVID has been with us for well over a year and a half now, and Arizonans are educated about it. If they want to wear masks, they should absolutely do so. It’s an individual choice. No one and no law anywhere in Arizona is stopping anyone from wearing masks. Ultimately, these mandates are toothless, unenforceable and will not hold up in court.”
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