State schools superintendent Tom Horne has called for the resignation of two Cartwright Elementary School District Board members, Lydia and Cassandra Hernandez, following a security incident at Maryvale High School. Horne criticized their actions as “outrageous and indefensible,” noting that one of the board members is also a state legislator. He said, “To do it at Maryvale High School where a student was tragically murdered in a classroom just a week earlier is unbelievably insensitive to the trauma that was inflicted on the students, teachers and staff of that school.”
The Phoenix Union High School District reported that the two women attempted to bypass safety protocols and inadvertently brought an unauthorized weapon onto campus. The weapon was identified as a box cutter. Neither woman is a parent of a Phoenix Union student.
Horne emphasized the importance of campus safety, stating, “Security personnel and safety officers need to do their jobs, and they cannot be diverted from protecting the campus by a juvenile and unnecessary act such as this.” He stressed that board members must prioritize school safety.
Lydia Hernandez also serves in the Arizona House of Representatives. The State of Arizona Department of Education has not yet commented further on Horne’s call for their resignation.
