School districts are scrambling to stretch funding sources in response to President Donald Trump’s decision last week to freeze more than $6 billion in federal funding.
“The timing couldn’t be worse,” Idaho’s Twin Falls School District Brady Dickinson told Idaho News 6. The district reported having a $1.5 million budget gap in federal funding just days before it was scheduled to be paid on July 1.
“You know, it’s like the day before you’re getting paid, you find out you’re gonna be short on your paycheck, and you have all these bills that you have to pay,” he told the news outlet.
Dickinson also said that if he had known ahead of time, he would’ve had time to plan. Instead, the district’s been “put in a tough spot.”
According to a statement released by Idaho State Department of Education Superintendent Debbie Critchfield, the state is hopeful that it will know the timeline for distribution sooner rather than later. As for now, the department has encouraged school districts to review any carryover funding that may help support the programs in question.
More from DA: How to support students’ well-being in the age of AI
The freeze impacts five funding streams that support migrant education, professional development, English learners, afterschool programs and 21st century learning centers.
A lack of funds could force Colorado’s Lake County School District to cut afterschool programs, which could mean fewer hours at work for parents, Superintendent Kate Bartlett told KUNC. “It’s not just losing out on Lego robotics,” Bartlett said. “The downstream impact is actually much deeper.”
Funding freeze chills summer programs
Utah school districts are facing a more than $35 million freeze statewide, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Last year, federal funding made up around 11% of the state’s overall $8 billion public education budget.
Deputy Superintendent Scott Jones told the news outlet that the state board of education is working with each school to review leftover funding sources, “and then to drag that money as far as they possibly can, until the funds come through.”
However, summer programs are already being impacted, Ben Trentelman, executive director of the Utah Afterschool Network, told The Salt Lake Tribune.
“Those are funds that school districts and after-school programs had already been promised,” Trentelman said. “If those funds aren’t there, then our Department of Education is not able to reimburse after-school and summer programs for costs that they incur to run their programs.”
An analysis by New America broke down the funding freeze district-by-district, noting that school systems “represented by Republicans in Congress will lose more per-pupil dollars.”
Read more about the federal funding freeze here.
