One word was all it took for three Arizona school districts to lose millions of dollars in federal funding.
The U.S. Department of Education has pulled $16 million in grants from the Osborn, Avondale, and Gadsden districts, following the Trump administration’s push to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies from schools.
Tom Horne, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, believes it could come down to the use of the word “equity” in the grant title.
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Ed Hermes, a member of the Osborn School District Governing Board, also told 12news, “Now to have the rug pulled out from under us, we’re left reeling, and frankly, trying to find answers.”
‘This has nothing to do with DEI’
The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching awarded the money in 2023 to be distributed over three years. Part of what’s known as the AZ PRIME grant (Arizona Prioritizing Recruitment/Retention and Induction to Maximize Equity), the money is intended to support teacher recruitment, retention, and funding gaps serving high-need student populations in the state. “The grant funds districts to strengthen systems of support for classroom teaching, [to] build instructional leadership capacity for school leaders, and [to] raise student achievement,” the institute states on its website.
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The Acting Secretary of Education has determined that it is a priority of the Department of Education to eliminate discrimination in all forms of education across the United States… The AZ PRIME grant was found to be inconsistent with these priorities, as it either promotes or participates in DEI initiatives that conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education.
On its website, the U.S. Department of Education includes “cancellation of ongoing DEI training and service contracts which total over $2.6 million” as one of the actions taken by the Trump administration.
However, while the AZ PRIME grant includes the word “equity,” and while the National Institute For Excellence in Teaching did state in its press release that, “this project will increase the effectiveness of each district’s ability to recruit, develop, support, and retain diverse educators to promote educational equity and more effectively reach underserved students,” in practice, the money awarded wasn’t even meant for DEI hiring initiatives or to hire teachers based on race.
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Losing these funds has left the districts desperately looking for alternative revenue to cover teacher pay for the rest of the year.
Osborn School District is tapping into its contingency funds, trying to secure $250,000 just to bridge the gap for the remainder of the school year.
* Original Article:
https://moneywise.com/a/ch-synd/three-arizona-school-districts-lose-millions-in-federal-funding