Arizona Governor Will Withhold Covid-19 Relief from Schools with Mask Mandates

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) announced that the authorities volition withhold Covid-19 alleviation funds from schools that person disguise mandates successful place.

“Parents are successful the driver’s seat, and it’s their close to marque decisions that champion acceptable the needs of their children. Safety recommendations are welcomed and encouraged — mandates that spot much accent connected students and families aren’t,” Ducey said successful a statement. “These grants admit efforts by schools and educators that are pursuing authorities laws and keeping their schoolroom doors unfastened for Arizona’s students.”

Ducey’s determination received withering disapproval from Representative Greg Stanton, a Democrat, who in a missive to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called it “deeply irresponsible.”

“This profoundly irresponsible program appears to interruption the plain connection of the instrumentality arsenic written by Congress arsenic good arsenic the guidance issued by the Department of the Treasury. These funds are not intended to beryllium utilized for policies that undercut technological probe to prosecute purely partisan ideological priorities,” Stanton wrote, calling connected the Treasury Department to “make wide to the politician that if helium follows done with this reckless proposal, helium risks losing these funds for Arizona.”

Ducey’s efforts bring to caput Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s effort to slash the salaries of schoolhouse officials who enforce disguise mandates successful defiance of his enforcement order. DeSantis aboriginal walked backmost the threat.

His spokesperson said “activist, anti-science schoolhouse committee members” should dock their ain salaries if the authorities imposes fiscal sanctions connected their districts.

“Those officials should ain their determination — and that means owning the consequences of their decisions alternatively than demanding students, teachers, and schoolhouse unit to ft the measure for their imaginable grandstanding,” said Christina Pushaw, the governor’s property secretary.