Massachusetts’ congressional delegation mentioned the Trump administration’s choice to “clawback” $106 million in COVID-19-era funding for Okay-12 faculties is “harmful and incredibly frustrating to students, families, educators, and school district leaders.”
In a letter despatched Thursday to the U.S. Division of Training Secretary Linda McMahon, the state’s complete Congressional delegation and Gov. Maura Healey mentioned they have been “alarmed at this abrupt termination” of congressionally licensed and appropriated funding for schooling within the state.
Springfield is about to lose out on essentially the most money — greater than $47 million — whereas Boston is shedding $3.4 million, in accordance with the Healey administration. The elected officers mentioned the “about-face” on the continued availability of the cash was an “insult.”
“Massachusetts gives students the best education in the country. We urge you to reverse course and allow leaders in the Commonwealth to deliver for students and communities without continued chaos and disruption,” the group mentioned within the letter.
The Healey administration mentioned it was notified final week that it was shedding entry to cash set to stream to Massachusetts via a pandemic-era fund that the governor claimed the state had till March 2026 to make the most of.
Healey beforehand mentioned the cash was going for use to face up psychological well being care and math tutoring for college kids, in addition to rising college safety and putting in techniques to wash the air at school buildings.
In a press release earlier this week, a spokesperson for the U.S. Division of Training mentioned the COVID-19 pandemic is over and states and faculty districts “can no longer claim they are spending their emergency pandemic funds on ‘COVID relief’ when there are numerous documented examples of misuse.”
“The Biden administration established an irresponsible precedent by extending the deadline for spending the COVID money far beyond the intended purpose of the funds, and it is past time for the money to be returned to the people’s bank account,” the spokesperson mentioned.
The spokesperson mentioned the company would take into account extensions on a person, project-specific foundation “where it can be demonstrated that funds are being used to directly mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on student learning.”
Healey and the Congressional delegation mentioned the reversal on the money impacts 41 states and over $2 billion in funding.
The state’s congressional delegation mentioned college districts and particular person faculties constructed their budgets based mostly on the understanding they might have the cash from the federal authorities.
“For example, the New Bedford school district allocated funds for a school-based health center. Some school districts were anticipating using the funding for mental health supports, security, air quality improvement, and math tutoring,” the lawmakers mentioned within the letter.
The lawmakers mentioned the withdrawal of the cash “will force schools back to the drawing board, requiring them to fight these cuts, rework their budgets, and scale back or eliminate projects intended to help students, educators, and communities.”
