Arizona’s $250,000 wrestling school grant traces back to unidentified lawmaker

By Stacy Mantle
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An unidentified Arizona legislator with an interest in wrestling requested a $250,000 appropriation for wrestling scholarships at Maricopa County Community College District, despite none of the affiliated colleges sponsoring a wrestling program, according to Lindsey Wilson, chief marketing and communications officer to the Office of the Chancellor. 

The state originally appropriated $250,000 to MCCCD for wrestling scholarships during fiscal year 2025-26. However, the district never distributed the money because none of its 10 colleges currently sponsors a wrestling program.

After MCCCD concluded it could not use the money, lawmakers redirected the same amount to the Arizona Department of Education for a competitive grant available to one school that "serves grades 6-12" that can "demonstrate that wrestling is incorporated into the school's mission".

Neither the Legislature nor the state agencies involved has identified who requested the original appropriation, who proposed the unusually specific replacement language or whether a particular school was contemplated as the recipient.

"The original appropriation was requested by a member of the Legislature with an interest in wrestling," Wilson said. "The funding was later redirected after MCCCD determined it could not use the appropriation for its intended purpose."

Wilson said MCCCD was informed the money would be redirected in the fiscal year 2026-27 budget after the district conveyed that it could not use the appropriation. She said MCCCD did not request or support the redirection and that losing the funding had no effect on students or planned wrestling opportunities.

The response raises a question: why a legislator initially sought wrestling scholarships for a college system without a wrestling program.

Wilson described the person as, “a state representative with ties to the wrestling community became interested in the issue,” but did not name the lawmaker. MCCCD did not identify the representative or explain what prompted the lawmaker’s interest.

Funding rewritten for one school

The Legislature redirected the money into a competitive grant whose specific eligibility requirements closely match Valiant College Preparatory. Whether those requirements were written with Valiant in mind is unknown. 

Section 111 of Senate Bill 1847, Arizona’s fiscal year 2026-27 general appropriations act, rescinded the $250,000 previously allocated to MCCCD and appropriated the same amount to the superintendent of public instruction.

The law directs the superintendent to award the money to “a single Arizona school” that offers instruction in grades six through 12 and “incorporates wrestling into its mission.”

ADE subsequently announced that public district, charter and private schools may apply. The department calls it a competitive grant through the Wrestling Appropriation Fund.

Applications opened in September and are due by 11:59 p.m. Sept. 27. The selected school will receive the entire $250,000 for a one-year project ending June 30, 2027.

ADE’s announcement says the recipient must report its funded activities and expenditures. However, it does not explain why the Legislature limited the appropriation, what qualifies as incorporating wrestling into a school’s mission or how many Arizona schools meet the requirements.

One school closely matches the language

A review of publicly available information found only one Arizona school that satisfies both requirements. Valiant College Preparatory serves grades 6-12 and places wrestling at the center of its academic and athletic model. 

The school describes itself as combining academics with elite wrestling. Its website says the Valiant crest represents academic excellence and “one of the best 6-12th grade wrestling programs in the country.”

The school’s stated mission is to provide an environment for academic and athletic achievement and its website prominently features nationally ranked wrestlers and championship performances.

The law does not name Valiant, however, and no records obtained so far establish that the school, its founders or anyone representing it requested the appropriation.

Independent Newsmedia sought records concerning Valiant College Preparatory; its nonprofit corporate name, People Who Care-WC Inc.; and school officials Eric Larkin, Mike Douglas and Eric Pawlak.

The requests also sought communications, meeting records, funding proposals and supporting materials concerning wrestling grants, scholarships and the fiscal year 2026 and 2027 state budgets.

The Governor’s Office, including the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting, was asked for records concerning the original appropriation, its redirection, the development of the eligibility requirements and the identity of anyone who advocated for the funding.

The request covered emails, text messages, meeting records, budget proposals, draft legislative language, amendment requests and communications involving ADE, MCCCD, legislative leadership and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

“After conducting a search for the requested records, we have not located any responsive items,” the Governor’s Office responded before closing the request.

Lawmakers do not respond

Sen. David Farnsworth, the formal sponsor of SB 1847, did not respond to questions asking why the appropriation was included in the budget and who requested it.

Rep. David Livingston, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, did not respond to questions asking who proposed redirecting the MCCCD scholarship money and whether his office helped develop the new eligibility language.

Both were also asked whether Valiant College Preparatory was contemplated as a recipient and whether they or their staffs communicated with the school or its representatives.

Because SB 1847 was the general appropriations act, the wrestling provision was enacted as part of the broader state budget rather than through a separate bill and stand-alone vote on the grant.

Questions remain as deadline approaches

MCCCD’s response confirms the funding originated with a legislator interested in wrestling. It does not identify that legislator or explain how a proposal for community-college scholarships became a grant for one school serving grades 6-12.

It also remains unclear whether more than one Arizona school can realistically satisfy the requirement that wrestling be incorporated into its mission.

ADE is accepting applications while those questions remain unanswered.

Editor’s note:   A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.