DENVER — Governor Jared Polis held a roundtable discussion at West High School on Wednesday to talk about $71 million in federal education grants that were abruptly frozen and the potential impact on Colorado schools.
The funding was already approved by Congress for after-school care, teacher training and English learner programs.
“We hope that this decision will be reversed, the funds will be unfrozen, but this has to happen in the next week or two because decisions are being made and you can’t spend money that isn’t coming,” Polis said.
The state typically receives the funding in the spring to disperse to schools, but on June 30, the Trump administration informed states that it was not releasing $7 billion in K-12 funds for review by the U.S. Department of Education. Districts were left scrambling just weeks before the start of the new school year.
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Lake County School District Superintendent Kate Bartlett said her district is losing $400,000 — nearly two-thirds of their budget — for after-school programs.
“I can't overstate how embedded this program is in the fabric of our community. Our students get breakfast and lunch at school, but through our out-of-school time programs, they get snacks, and we even offer to-go dinner,” Bartlett said.
Lake School District said it had two choices: reduce staff and create a leaner after-school program, or reduce hours and days.
Bartlett said the cuts will have far greater economic impacts on the Leadville community, where 70% of the families commute out of the county for work and depend on the after-school programs for childcare.
“It's an earthquake," the superintendent said. "Our families are already working unbelievably long hours to live in a community where the cost of living has far outpaced wage growth, and I do worry about the economic impact on the community if parents suddenly have to say, one, two or four days a week, I now need to leave work at 3:30 p.m."
Bartlett said they will be forced to let staff go in 10 days and make cuts to their program.
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JeffCo Public Schools is losing about $3.3 million in funding. Superintendent Tracy Dorland said the loss will impact professional learning for new educators, engagement specialists who help improve attendance, and their mobile welcome center for newcomers.
“They support the family with basic needs, whether it be diapers, formula, books for the children, you name it, getting them connected to community resources," Dorland said. "It's just been a huge and tremendous support for our schools so that they can focus on supporting the students with their learning."
JeffCo Public Schools has already let some staff know their position may be cut if this funding does not come through, according to Dorland. The district will let teachers know by August.
“It is absolutely absurd that this has been budgeted for, we have planned for these funds, we have hired positions to support these programs," Dorland said. "It's an impact not only on our students, which is the most important impact, but it's also an impact on our workforce."
- Watch the full roundtable discussion below:
Polis said the state has been left mostly in the dark about the federal government’s review of this funding. There has been no request for documentation or exchange of information about these programs between the state and the federal government.
“I did bring this up with Secretary McMahon two weeks ago. She has indicated that it is with the Office of Management and Budget, but it's opaque to us,” Polis said Wednesday. “We don't know what's going on in there, and whether they're going to rescind this money, fund this money, or create some new bureaucratic application process for this money.
“We are going to do everything we can as a state to fight for these funds, which, under law, should be distributed to our schools and to our after-school providers."
