Supt. Tom Horne feuding with Phoenix school district over Black Lives Matter poster

PHOENIX – Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne and a Phoenix elementary school district are feuding over a Black Lives Matter poster.

The state’s top elected education official thinks the Black Lives Matter poster signifies the kind of race and gender politics that get in the way of academics, while Osborn School District leaders accused him misrepresenting the situation and bullying.

The Arizona Department of Education put out a press release Thursday outlining Horne’s concerns, which he said were spurred by a report received through a hotline he established last year to field parent complaints about lesson material.

What did Horne say about Black Lives Matter poster?

“We received a notification on the department’s Empower Hotline from a member of the Osborn community, who is offended by what is going on at that school district,” Horne said in the release. “This person sent pictures of a classroom wall that instead of posting academic materials had a big Black Lives Matter poster. They also sent a picture of stickers given to the students with the Osborn logo, surrounded by the colors associated with gender politics.”

Horne also referenced test scores showing that Osborn’s six schools weren’t performing as well as schools in another Valley elementary district with similar demographics. He implied that things like the Black Lives Matter poster, a photo of which was attached to the press release, contribute to the difference.

“If districts eliminate the time spent on race and gender politics they will have more time for academics. This will produce higher test scores,” Horne said.

Horne acknowledged that he has no power to do anything about the situation, although he raised concerns with the Osborn superintendent.

“He said what I was complaining about was designed to make all students feel welcome,” Horne said. “The way to do that properly is to teach students to treat each other as individuals without regard to race, sexual orientation, sexual identity or any such characteristic.”

How did district respond to Horne’s assertions?

When asked for a response to Horne’s press release, Osborn Superintendent Michael Robert issued the following statement:

“I made very clear to Superintendent Horne that the pictures he has are not from classrooms, but rather support staff in the office, and that instruction in our classrooms is driven by the Arizona state standards. While he claims identity politics at play, the fact that he released this statement ignoring the facts discussed demonstrates the only politicking happening. We lose faith in elected officials when the leader of our state education agency chooses to attempt to bully school leaders and their communities, or pit them against one another. With the support of our school board, my message is one driven by our Core Values, and that Osborn will continue to be recognized for whom we choose to include and welcome, rather than by whom we exclude and reject.”

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