PHOENIX — Arizona school districts say their ability to fund key positions and programs for next year is at risk because Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne is notifying them to budget for 20% less in Title 1 funds. The federal funds are allocated for low-income students and the exact amounts are approved by Congress each year.
A spokesperson for Horne said the superintendent is being cautious because the allocation of Title 1 funds is not yet known and will be smaller than previous years.
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“It was important not to overpay schools now and be forced to call back money later when the final federal amount was known,” said Horne spokesperson Doug Nick in an email to 12News.
A spokesperson for the nonprofit Save Our Schools Arizona questioned Horne’s justification for withholding 20% and said administrators should only need to plan for a 6-10% cut.
“If 20% of Title 1 funding is withheld, some districts are going to be forced to make some heart wrenching decisions,” said Tyler Kowch, communications manager for SOS.
Those decisions include potentially canceling a summer program in the Cartwright School District and cutting teaching positions in the Washington Elementary School District, Kowch said.
Until last weekend, Congress was unable to agree on a budget, leaving the U.S. Department of Education unsure exactly how much Title 1 money it would be allocated. Congress finally approved a consolidated budget last weekend and a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education told 12News this week the department had not yet calculated “preliminary allocations” for states based on the budget that was passed. They hoped to do so “soon,” the spokesperson said.
12News has asked the U.S. Department of Education when it will have a definitive amount. Will it be next week? Two months from now? The department has not yet responded.
Kowch said this is not the first time there has been uncertainty from the federal government.
“In the past when there have been issues, the standard has been ADE withholds 10% at the most. Superintendent Horne is doing his own napkin math at his discretion,” Kowch said.
Statistics compiled by the federal government show a nearly 7% drop in Arizonans in poverty. That number is expected to be reflected in at least a 7% reduction in Title 1 funding for the next school year. Beyond that, it is unclear if Arizona will see further reductions.
A federal spokesperson said they have always encouraged states to “provide their school districts with prudent minimum estimates for the coming school year to facilitate planning.”
Nick said once the exact dollar amount is known, the state will not withhold any funds.
“ADE has no control over the amount, and when the US Dept. of Education calculates the final figures, ADE will allocate every dollar schools are entitled to,” Nick said.
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