PHOENIX (AZFamille) — Arizona’s public schools chief announced a multimillion-dollar grant to expand access to charter schools.

On Wednesday, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced that Arizona received a $34.8 million federal grant to serve “educationally disadvantaged students.”

The grant will create 24 charter schools and support 23 additional schools.

“These dollars will serve a critical purpose in ensuring that approximately 10,000 students living in traditionally underserved areas will have the opportunity to choose a high-quality charter school.” Every student in every region of our state, urban or rural, rich or poor, deserves this opportunity, and I am very pleased to be part of this effort,” Horne said in a statement.

Horne said the department would focus on helping students with disabilities, those facing economic challenges and English language learners.

“I would like to congratulate the department staff who competed for this funding. Their work resulted in the state receiving the largest recipient of this grant, per capita, in the country,” Horne said.

The grant will also provide educational assistance to educators and improve educational outcomes.

Curtis Cardine, researcher at Grand Canyon Institute and former superintendent with more than 50 years of experience in education, said school districts are losing students to other districts, including charter and private schools.

Cardine said the state was spending more on education; however, its data shows a decline in state funding for school districts in recent years.

Meanwhile, Cardine said, charter and private schools are seeing an increase. If this trend continues, more traditional schools, particularly those located in disadvantaged neighborhoods, will be forced to close.

“You can’t go to your high school reunion if the high school no longer exists, and it should be the center of your community. Your public schools,” Cardine said.

In response to criticism, Horne said, “I think they (charter schools) complement district schools, and I think it’s important that parents have the opportunity to choose the school that best responds to the needs of their child. »

Horne added that he is “fighting” to get more money for public education, including charter and district schools.

Interested schools must apply and be approved by the state charter board. Applications will begin to be approved in March.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a news report? Send it’s ours here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.