Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says Gov. Katie Hobbs is holding up a grant schools use to buy art supplies.
The bipartisan budget Hobbs signed last year included $10 million for the Arts Consumables Grant program. It provides grants of up to $1,000 each for public school teachers. That money could be used to buy items like paint brushes and theater props.
“Pulling this funding, if it is not immediately corrected, would create a deep scar on arts education,” Horne said in a press release.
Horne says $2.54 million of that money has already been paid out, but another $4.7 million that was approved internally by the Education Department for the second and third quarters of this school year, which covers October 2023 to March 2024, was put on hold. That included money teachers were previously told they could spend.
Horne initially sent an email to schools explaining the situation after receiving questions from schools about the status of the funds, according to the press release.
It is unclear why the governor put a hold on the program and if the grant program will be unfrozen in the fourth quarter.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but Hobbs’ new budget proposal presented in January clawed back the $10 million appropriation for the grant program that was included in last year’s budget.
That was one of many cuts Hobbs’ proposed to address a budget shortfall that legislative budget analysts estimate has grown to roughly $1.7 billion
