Guests - Tom Horne, Dr. Mateja de Leonni
Arizona Education Under Fire: Tom Horne Defends School Choice, Academic Standards, and Parental Rights
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne joined Kathleen Winn on Winn Tucson for a wide-ranging discussion on the state’s education landscape. Horne, a former Arizona Attorney General now seeking re-election, laid out his case for expanded school choice, tougher academic standards, and a return to consequences in schools—while pushing back hard against critics, including Governor Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes.
Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Remain a Flashpoint
Horne strongly defended Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which has grown from 11,000 participants when he took office to nearly 97,000 today. The program allows parents to use state funds for private school tuition, homeschooling, or other educational expenses when the public school fails to meet a child’s needs.
“Imagine a family with three children,” Horne said. “Two are doing fine in public school, but the third is not. ESAs give parents the ability to move that child to a school that works. I have trouble understanding how anyone can oppose parents having that right—unless they’re so immersed in ideology they’ve forgotten about the interests of students.”
Critics, led by Governor Hobbs and Attorney General Mayes, have accused the department of lax oversight and fraud. Horne countered that the explosive growth occurred without any increase in auditing staff—a problem the governor herself created.
“Last year the House passed funding for more personnel,” Horne explained. “The governor told them if they didn’t remove it, she would veto the entire budget. They were staring at a government shutdown, so they took it out. She manufactured the crisis.”
The legislature responded by authorizing risk-based auditing: expenditures over $2,000 are audited before payment; smaller amounts are paid first and audited later. “Everything gets audited,” Horne insisted. “We’ve recovered over $400,000 and canceled 700 accounts. When fraud is egregious, we send it to the Attorney General—she refuses to prosecute. We’ve had to go to county attorneys instead.”
Academic Recovery, Teacher Pay, and Discipline
Horne acknowledged Arizona’s persistent low rankings—51st out of 50 states plus D.C. in per-pupil funding—but argued money is only part of the solution.
“Funding is part of the issue, but it’s not the whole issue,” he said. “We need to raise teacher salaries—we’re losing more teachers than we’re bringing in—but the bigger problem is leadership that focuses on academics.”
He highlighted success stories: solution teams sent to underperforming schools lifted 70% out of the bottom 5%. An “adopt-a-school” initiative in a high-poverty area produced a 27-point math gain in one year. “Poor kids can learn just as well as rich kids when they’re properly taught,” Horne declared.
On grade inflation, Horne was blunt: “It’s outrageous. Students need to know there are real standards. This lax attitude produces people who won’t achieve in life.”
He also called chronic truancy a “terrible problem” and urged tougher consequences. “We can’t teach students who aren’t there,” he said, noting that average daily membership funding already penalizes districts financially when students are absent.
Career Technical Education and Preparing Students for Life
Horne has dramatically expanded what is now called Career andand Technical Education (CTE). Through his Student Industry Partnership (SIP) program, CEOs tell teachers exactly what skills their companies need.
“We have 40 of Arizona’s largest companies on board,” he said. “My goal: no student graduates unless they are college-ready or career-ready and can get a well-paying job right out of high school.”
Cultural Battles: DEI, Sports, and Bathrooms
Horne confirmed he is forwarding evidence of districts continuing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs to the federal government and stands ready to withhold federal funds—approximately $866 million statewide—the moment Washington authorizes it.
On transgender policies, Horne is the lone state official still defending Arizona law keeping boys out of girls’ sports and private facilities. “The Attorney General refuses to defend the law or my department,” he said. “She claims a conflict because she personally disagrees. That’s not a conflict—that’s dereliction of duty.”
Looking Ahead
Horne says it will take eight years total—four more after his current term—to return Arizona to pre-COVID proficiency levels. “Ninety percent of my time is spent helping schools improve academically,” he stressed. “The controversies get the headlines, but that’s the real work.”
His Republican primary opponent, Treasurer Kimberly Yee, was mentioned briefly by host Winn, who knows both candidates well and believes the GOP will have a strong nominee either way.
Hope on the Horizon: Groundbreaking Alzheimer’s Advances with Dr. Mateja de Leonni
Later in the program, Tucson neurologist Dr. Mateja de Leonni of Vita Medica Institute joined Kathleen Winn to share what she calls the most encouraging developments in neurological disease in her 34-year career.
Disease-Modifying Treatments Are Reversing Symptoms
Dr. de Leonni now has nearly 1,500 southern Arizona patients on amyloid-targeting infusion therapies (Lecanemab and Donanemab). In a significant portion of early-stage patients, she is seeing actual reversal—not just slowing—of Alzheimer’s.
“I just saw a nurse who was being forced out of her job a year ago,” Dr. de Leonni reported. “She has completely reversed her memory loss and is working full-time again.”
Combined with customized supplement regimens, the infusions are removing beta-amyloid plaque and tau proteins visible on PET scans. “We can see the toxic proteins gone,” she said. “When caught in the mild stage, the brain has the capacity to recover.”
Prevention in Midlife Is Now Reality
Brand-new studies are pushing the timeline even earlier:
A five-year study treating genetically high-risk individuals starting as young as age 25–46 with Lecanemab and Donanemab shows no memory loss years later—exactly when the disease would normally appear.
Preliminary results published in the last week demonstrate that people who would have developed early-onset Alzheimer’s in their 50s now show zero cognitive decline in their mid-50s.
Researchers estimate these preventive courses could delay or entirely prevent clinical Alzheimer’s by 20–50 years.
“This is no longer about managing decline,” Dr. de Leonni emphasized. “This is prevention. Take a course of treatment in your 40s or 50s and potentially never develop the disease.”
Lifestyle Factors That Move the Needle
Recent trials also delivered practical takeaways:
Physical exercise (walking, chair yoga, gardening) reduced Alzheimer’s biomarkers by approximately 40% in at-risk adults over four years.
Pulse fasting (12–18 hours once a week) or a ketogenic state protects brain cells by reducing inflammation and supplying ketones as fuel.
Mental exercises like Sudoku helped briefly, but only physical activity produced lasting memory improvement in older adults with mild impairment.
Dr. de Leonni stressed that early detection—through blood markers and specialized imaging—is critical. “Our mindset has to shift,” she said. “We now have the tools to intervene before the brain is irreversibly damaged.”
For more information or to schedule an evaluation, visit vitamedicainstitute.global or call 520-638-5757.
In a state grappling with education battles and families facing neurological disease, Friday’s Winn Tucson offered both fierce advocacy and genuine hope—two commodities Arizona parents say they desperately need.