Arizona won't stop using COVID money for anti-mask grants

PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is defying a request that helium halt utilizing national coronavirus alleviation wealth to money an acquisition assistance programme that tin lone spell to schools without disguise mandates.

The Republican politician besides is continuing a programme that gives backstage schoolhouse vouchers to parents upset that their children's schools necessitate masks oregon quarantines aft being exposed to COVID-19.

In a missive sent to the U.S. Treasury Department connected Thursday, Ducey's national assistance squad manager ignored the department's request that helium halt utilizing the money. Instead, Jason Mistlebauer said the wealth was appropriately being utilized to assistance students who were harmed by schoolhouse disguise mandates.

“In Arizona, disadvantaged communities carnivore the brunt of overbearing measures and the authorities wants to guarantee that low-income students are not disproportionately affected by disguise mandates rules and schoolhouse closures,” Mistlebauer wrote.

Despite the rationale Mistlebauer laid out, a $163 cardinal assistance programme Ducey created goes to schools successful high-income areas, but lone if they bash not necessitate masks. And a overmuch smaller program that gives backstage schoolhouse vouchers to parents whose children's nationalist schools person disguise mandates oregon necessitate isolation aft COVID-19 exposures doesn't lone people low-income children. Applicants tin gain up to 350% of the national poorness level, which equals $92,750 for a household of four.

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Ducey, a Republican, created the assistance programs successful August to enactment unit connected schoolhouse districts that person defied the state’s prohibition connected disguise mandates. That ban was aboriginal overturned by the courts, but Ducey has not removed the limits connected which schoolhouse districts qualify.

The Treasury Department past period said the assistance programs are “not a permissible use” of the national funding. It was 1 of a bid of efforts by the Biden medication to propulsion backmost against Republican governors who person opposed disguise mandates and different sought to usage national pandemic backing to beforehand their ain agendas.

In the letter, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the conditions “undermine evidence-based efforts to halt the dispersed of COVID-19.” He asked the authorities to explicate however it volition “remediate” the occupation wrong 30 days.

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Ducey's spokesperson dodged a question arsenic to wherefore it did not respond to the national government's request that it cease spending the wealth connected unauthorized programs.

“The national authorities laid retired their lawsuit wherefore they don’t deliberation it’s appropriate,” C.J. Karamargin said. “And we responded arsenic they’ve asked america to bash and provided our investigation arsenic to wherefore we deliberation it is."

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends cosmopolitan disguise wearing for students and teachers successful the classroom. The CDC issued the guidance successful airy of the accelerated dispersed of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19.

Health officials successful Maricopa County reported that schools without disguise mandates had dramatically higher numbers of COVID-19 outbreaks. The study fixed to region supervisors successful August was aboriginal utilized arsenic a ground for a CDC report.

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