On September 30, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee addressed Superintendent Tom Horne in a letter regarding the Nadaburg School District’s request for a cash advance. In her letter, Yee stated, “…the press release suggests that ASTO was somehow unaware of its duty to review and approve the cash advance request under A.R.S. § 15-973(C). This is incorrect.”
Despite this assertion, an email sent from the Treasurer’s office on August 29 appears to contradict Yee’s statement. Nick Barnhiser, identified as the Network Administrator at the State Treasurer’s Office, wrote to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) about repeated emails received by Treasurer Yee from Ryan Young at ADE through Adobe Sign. These emails requested her signature on a cash advance for the Nadaburg School District.
Barnhiser wrote: “This is not something the Treasurer nor our office handles and the message was forwarded to us as possibly fraudulent. Doing a quick search I was able to determine that Ryan Young does seem to be a staff member at the Dept of Ed so perhaps these are being sent by mistake? I was not able to obtain Ryan’s contact information. If someone could look into this for us it would be appreciated. The emails have been hitting her inbox consistently for the past several days and we are hesitant to put any blocks in place for fear of interrupting potentially legitimate mail. If more information is needed please let us know. Thank you!”
The exchange highlights confusion over which agency holds responsibility for processing cash advances under state law.
