By Matthew Holloway |

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne followed the U.S. Department of Education’s release of its pause on grant funding with a public commitment to disburse the funding as soon as possible.

The Arizona Department of Education announced that $124 million, or approximately one percent of the state’s overall education funding, was under review by the federal government.

The funding was due to be released in early July, but the approximate $6 billion in nationwide funding, including the $124 million allocated for Arizona, was placed under review by the agency on July 1st.

“The department will not be issuing grant award notifications obligating funds for these programs on July 1 prior to completing that review,” a memo from the Department’s Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs said at the time. “The department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the president’s priorities and the department’s statutory responsibilities.”

In an interview with the outlet, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon assured the public, “We want to make sure that we have the right focus on what we’re trying to do with our students.”

Superintendent Horne said in a statement, “The release of federal funds that were being reviewed by the Trump administration is good news and no surprise to me. When the review was announced I noted that the federal government is merely ensuring that the funds are being used appropriately and not for ideological purposes. People need to be assured that their education tax dollars are being used to advance academic goals and not social indoctrination.”

He added, “When the pause occurred, a lot of people panicked thinking the money would go away entirely. I said at the time that this was merely a pause for review and that is exactly what happened. The Arizona Department of Education staff will work very hard to disburse these funds as soon as possible.”

Horne shared a video clip on Friday from President Trump, coinciding with the release in which the President said, “We are moving education back to the states….when they do it, you are going to have the BEST education in the world.”

In a previous statement, Horne observed, “They’ve (federal government) seen instances of far-left ideology being taught to students. And I would agree that that should not be. People obviously have a right to be far left if they want, but they don’t have a right to impose it on students in the classroom. So, if there’s any of that in Arizona, I would cooperate enthusiastically with the federal government to get rid of it.”

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.