Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and Attorney General Kris Mayes are in dispute over the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. Mayes said she is “gravely concerned” about Horne’s policy that allows automatic approval of purchases under $2,000 and directed him to stop approving items listed as unallowable in the ESA Parent Handbook. She cited examples of Empowerment Scholarship Account funds being used for luxury items, including diamond rings and big-screen TVs. Horne responded that “More than $600,000 in improper purchases has either been collected or is in the process of being collected,” as reported by ABC15.
In a letter posted on the Arizona Department of Education's website, Superintendent Tom Horne defended his management of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program. He said risk-based auditing, which Attorney General Kris Mayes criticized, was directed by the legislature. Horne also wrote, “You state that this is not partisan. That is disproved by all the false statements you made on the television interview,” while emphasizing that current procedures follow legislative requirements.
Attorney General Kris Mayes asked the department to stop automatic approvals, set up stronger audit and expense review procedures, and assess its response to misuse of the Empowerment Scholarship Account program to prevent abuses "without further litigation," as per ABC15. Superintendent Tom Horne replied, "You referred to a July 21 meeting of the legislative audit committee," and said, "Some have erroneously interpreted the word ‘consultation’ to mean that the auditor general has the right to dictate terms to us. That is incorrect," according to the Arizona Department of Education.
