The Trump administration is withholding at least $35.8 million in school funding for Utah, as it freezes billions of dollars in similar education grants nationwide. That’s left some academic programs in limbo.
The funds approved by Congress earlier this year were supposed to be sent out July 1. But the Utah State Board of Education, like education officials in other states, received a letter on June 30. It stated the U.S. Department of Education was “reviewing the FY 2025 funding for the [Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A, IV-B] grant program(s) and decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year.”
Most federal grants that flow through the state board go to individual school districts and charters. Programs under review include money for educating migrant students, teacher training, services for English language learners, before- and after-school programs and improving academic achievement. Utah State Board of Education spokesperson Sharon Turner said that equates to $35.8 million. On top of that, the state has not yet received money for adult education grants.
Programs left in the lurch will have to decide for themselves whether they have enough leftover funds from previous years to keep operating. And the impacts could be immediate, like at summer school programs with students currently enrolled.
Executive director of the non-profit Utah Afterschool Network Ben Trentelman said he’s never experienced a situation like this before. He said about 40% of public funding for Utah after-school programs comes from federal grants.
“They may have some foundational or private donor funds, but all of these organizations, realistically, they're all running on a shoestring budget, and they're heavily dependent on these funds,” Trentelman said.
Programs organized their thin budgets based on what they had been promised. Not knowing whether they will eventually get that money forces them to make hard decisions, like moving money allocated elsewhere or cutting operations.
“They're all digesting this right now. They're all figuring out exactly what they need to do, and so I haven't gotten anything concrete from any providers yet,” Trentelman said. “It really depends on each individual organization.”
State officials have told providers they can keep operating if they have funds to do so. But Trentelman added that program managers have historically been encouraged to spend down their money before the end of each fiscal year on June 30, so some may not have a cushion. And Utah’s child care system is already stretched thin, he said.
For schools, summer is when they’re figuring out staffing and other plans for the upcoming year. This throws a massive wrench in that. Schools will have to decide whether to proceed as normal, based on the hope they’ll eventually get enough funding, or drastically reduce their programming.
“It's a very scary situation for us, for kids and families and for working parents who are unsure of how they're going to be able to find quality, affordable care for their kids after school,” he said.
Even if education programs do get these missing funds in the near term, the long-term future of grant programs is still up for debate. If that federal money goes away permanently, Turner said the Utah Legislature would have to decide whether to fund those programs with state dollars.
