The Trump administration is withholding more than $6 billion in grant funding for schools — money typically used for after-school and summer programs, professional development for teachers, English language instruction for non-native speakers and more.
The first portion of the funding is usually sent to schools by July 1.
The Unit 5 school district is waiting on almost $1 million.
“It does make it challenging for school districts when there are changes that occur without much notice or without a fully executed plan,” said Kristen Weikle, Unit 5 superintendent.
The Office of Management and Budget said in a statement that many grant programs have been “grossly misused to subsidize a radical left wing agenda.” A coalition of 24 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia, including Kwame Raoul of Illinois, sued the Trump administration over the move this week.
The current pause keeps Unit 5 from being able to pay for things the grants normally would used for, including professional development, learning support for English as a second language students, and expanding educational opportunities.
A total of around $950,000 in grant money would go to Unit 5 schools if it eventually does become available. Unit 5 would be able to go back and apply any associated costs that are eligible to be paid for under the grants.
“I'm hopeful that more information will be coming forward in the next few weeks that will share how we can receive those funds and what we need to go through in order to be eligible for those,” said Weikle.
Weikle spoke with WGLT on July 7. No information regarding how to apply for grants has been made available to schools in the week since.
“For the immediate future, I don't see us changing anything that we're needing to do. It just may come out of our general education fund, rather than out of a grant,” said Weikle.
SNAP changes
Changes from the big GOP tax cut and spending law will tighten eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP]. It adds a requirement for parents with children over the age of 6 to meet work requirements and shifts some of the costs associated with SNAP to states.
It also could impact school lunch programs, requiring families in some school districts to apply to maintain access to such programs.
“Our students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch will still have ways that they can show their eligibility,” said Weikle. “Our families may need to complete some paperwork for us just to provide that information, but we're going to work with our families to make sure that if a student is eligible, that they will receive free and reduced lunch and breakfast services.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to announce new guidance for eligibility requirements for SNAP benefits. Current guidance lasts until Sept. 30.
