Midsummer is considered a crucial time for planning, as school districts evaluate resources for the upcoming academic year. But this month, the Trump administration threw a major curveball at that planning by pausing funds for a variety of programs so it could review the grants. Even if all the funds are eventually released, South Dakota education voices say a prolonged delay is the last thing districts need. Comments from Heath Larson, executive director, Associated School Boards of South Dakota.
Like many school districts across the country, South Dakota administrators aren’t sure what their funding will look like for the upcoming school year. That’s due to the Trump administration’s decision to withhold grants for a review. By this point of the summer, public school leaders typically have a clear picture of how much state and federal funding is available to fill staffing needs and carve out key learning programs. But at the start of July, the U-S Education Department informed districts it was freezing six billion dollars in grants that cover, among other things, teacher training and English language instruction.
Heath Larson of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota questions the timing…
0:11 “It certainly puts, you know, our administrators and school boards in a difficult position when it comes to the planning and preparation and knowing, you know, what will be or what won’t be available.”
Education advocates say the funding freeze places greater strain on low-income districts and schools with a larger share of migrant students. Larson says late last week, they were told one of the five grant pools would see money flowing again. But several others were still on pause. The Trump administration says it wants to ensure funds aren’t being used to carry out a “radical left-wing agenda,” but even Republican lawmakers are urging the White House to release all the money.
The teacher training grants represent the largest chunk of this funding, and it comes as South Dakota educators prepare for controversial social studies standards recently adopted by the state.
Larson says superintendents and classroom leaders need to be put in the best position possible for the upcoming year…
0:12 “We would advocate for full funding and adequate funding for all students and for our teachers, so that we can carry out our mission, which is to provide a high-quality education.”
Even if all the funds are eventually released, the grant programs themselves are being considered for cuts under the annual federal budget proposed by President Trump. That spending plan is separate from the large federal tax bill just signed into law.