Trump administration refuses to restore $10.6 million in aid to KY schools
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
The U.S. Department of Education denied a $10.6 million request to extend COVID relief funding submitted by the Kentucky Department of Education on behalf of school districts for nine projects.
However, the federal department did extend COVID relief funding for two Boone County projects amounting to about $44,000. That includes $26,000 for an interactive online learning platform and another project to fund a year of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
School districts and states previously had until March of 2026 to spend COVID-19 relief funds that had been approved. However, in a March 28 letter, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told state education departments that the federal government was immediately halting nearly $3 billion in relief fund reimbursements.
McMahon wrote in her letter that the U.S. Education Department would consider extending the pandemic relief money on a case-by-case basis.
Altogether, Kentucky was hoping to preserve $38 million in expected federal funding for projects and services in local districts and $18 million for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). The state has not yet received a federal decision on the rest of the projects it submitted for reconsideration, a KDE spokesperson said.
Kentucky earlier this month had asked the U.S. Department of Education (USED) to approve a deadline extension for Kentucky school districts to use the COVID relief funds for planned projects that would be in jeopardy without the dollars. Some have signed contracts or incurred other obligations and must now re-examine their district budgets.
Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher expressed disappointment at the decision and said the state would appeal it. “We expect the federal government to honor its promises to states and to our students,” he said.
“While I am pleased that USED will allow for Boone County to continue spending money on these two projects that were previously approved by the department last year, it is unfortunate that Kentucky has been denied more than $10 million – so far – to provide resources and improve the learning environment of our students,” Fletcher said in a Tuesday press release.
“While we hope for more good news in the coming days, we stand ready to appeal the projects that have been denied,” he continued. “We will continue to fight for the resources our schools and districts have been promised by USED to continue their mission of providing the best education possible to Kentucky’s students.”
The KDE request that was denied included projects for school districts in Boone County, Christian County, Clinton County, Covington Independent, Jefferson County and Knox County. Christian County Public Schools had the most projects in the request — five — including about $7.9 million to construct a new high school.
A spokesperson for the Christian County schools said in a statement that it will continue to focus on its mission to “provide a high-quality education and celebrate student success” and work with legislators “to advocate for the return of these funds to support the construction of the new Christian County High School.”
“Our focus, as always, is on supporting our students and staff,” the statement said. “At this time, we are especially committed to celebrating the accomplishments of our seniors as they prepare for graduation and the next chapter of their lives.”
Jefferson County Public Schools, the state’s largest school district, requested about $340,000 to provide students experiencing homelessness with wraparound services.
Mark Hebert, a spokesperson for JCPS, said in an email that the district is “disappointed that the U.S. government is cutting funds that support the needs of our extremely fragile homeless student population.” The school district had signed a grant contract with the federal government and was using the funding for:
- Case management services for students who are homeless
- Food and hygiene items for students who are homeless
- Emergency short-term, or under five days, hotel vouchers for families in dangerous situations without shelter
- Transportation to ensure students who are homeless have stable schooling even when their families move from place to place
- Extended learning opportunities for unhoused students
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