Horne urges board to reconsider request for armed officers in 2 PXU schools
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona’s top public schools official is urging a Phoenix district board to reconsider a request that would have placed armed officers in two of its high schools.
Tom Horne, the state superintendent of public education, spoke out Thursday against the Phoenix Union High School District’s (PXU) governing board’s recent vote to reject the request for safety officers made by administrators at Betty Fairfax and Carl Hayden high schools.
“The governing board made a mistake by rejecting the wishes of its district administrators and the two principals of these schools,” Horne said in a statement. “Board members do not have to show up on campus every school day and deal with safety problems, but teachers, students and staff do. They know how bad the situation has become.”
Horne was joined at a Thursday morning news conference by current and former PXU educators, urging the board members who voted against the requests to reconsider.
“Superintendent Tom Horne is attempting to protect students and staff by an ever-increasing threat of violence because some parents are failing to parent, and the school board is bending to a very few but vocal community about not having their children around police officers. One should ask why,” retired PXU teacher Mark Williams said.
A PXU spokesperson didn’t elaborate on the board’s vote to reject the request for officers, instead pointing out a recently approved weapons detection system that will be installed in all the district’s high schools for the upcoming school year and other efforts. The district’s full statement is below:
“The Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) will always prioritize the safety of our students, staff, families, and visitors. Creating safe learning environments requires a multi-layered approach, including physical, emotional, and digital safety. Recently, the PXU Governing Board approved Advanced Weapon Detection Systems (AWDS) at all Phoenix Union High Schools for the 2025-2026 school year. The use of AWDS will add to our robust wrap-around supports, which include counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and more. Several of our campus social workers and existing School Resource Officers and School Safety Officers are funded by the Arizona Department of Education Safety Grant. Moving forward, additional measures that contribute to our holistic approach to safety will be considered.”
Horne points out that the requests were made through a state program that would have funded the officers.
“Principals at these two schools requested armed officers through the state’s School Safety program that the Department of Education agreed to pay for them,” Horne said. “The board should have respected the wishes of its own educators.”
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