A dispute between Alaska’s education officials and their federal counterparts over whether the state spent pandemic relief equitably has had its first tangible consequence: the state must receive a federal OK before it can spend nearly $1 million in grants.
The United States Department of Education has put restrictions on the money in addition to labeling the state as “high risk” for receiving future grants because it says the state has not equitably distributed funds among its districts. State officials contest this assertion.
This disagreement has raised questions about whether Alaska schools will lose out on future grants.
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