Area school districts are facing huge shortfalls after federal dollars approved by Congress were not delivered to school systems across the country. Burke County Public Schools said it is short about $1 million.
The U.S. Department of Education said in a letter dated June 30 that some programs funded by federal dollars were under review.
On Monday, N.C. Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced the state would join 23 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit against the federal government for not distributing funds to public schools.
A press release about the lawsuit said North Carolina public schools could lose more than $165 million. Nationwide, the funding freeze could cost public schools about $6.8 billion.
“Public schools across North Carolina, especially in rural areas, need this money to keep teachers in the classroom and keep kids safe while they learn,†Jackson said in a press release. “It’s unlawful and unconstitutional for the Department of Education to withhold money that Congress has appropriated. I’m going to court to get this money for our students, our schools, and North Carolina families.â€
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The press release said the undistributed funds could cost about 1,000 North Carolina teachers their jobs.
Millions lost for area school districts
On social media, Burke County Public Schools said they did not receive about $1 million due to the funding freeze. The school district said that money supported 2.25 English Language Learner teaching positions, one instructional technology facilitator, one school nurse, two school resource officers and four secondary instructional coaches.
Swan
“These are funds we were counting on to support critical positions,†Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Mike Swan said, according to the district’s Facebook page. “As we prepare for the start of the school year, our top priority remains protecting our students and staff. We are committed to making informed decisions, retaining personnel, and minimizing any disruption to student learning.â€
Hickory City Schools Superintendent Jennifer Griffin said the district was looking at a loss of more than $300,000. In a press release, Catawba County Schools said they could lose about $1 million in federal funds.
“This is a significant amount of money for a district our size,†Griffin said.
Griffin said the district had already planned how they were going to allocate the funds before states received notice June 30 that funds would be frozen.
Griffin said two positions in the school district were funded with some of the $300,000. Griffin said the district was able to save those positions and no teachers had been laid off due to the funding freeze.
Griffin said professional development opportunities were cut to make up for the frozen funding and some technological safeguards were changed.
“A parent may not recognize a teacher is not getting these professional development opportunities, but they’re important for supporting teacher growth,†Griffin said. “If we’re not supporting our teachers, that’s a miss.â€
Griffin pointed out that the state also has not passed a budget for this fiscal year, which began July 1.
“This adds additional uncertainty for funding to your local public schools,†Griffin said.
Catawba County Schools said the $1 million supported instructional coaches, support for beginning teachers, three Limited English Proficiency teachers and one assistant, districtwide professional development, teacher recruitment and instructional software.
“We’re treating this seriously but not passively,†Matt Stover, superintendent of Catawba County Schools, said in a press release. “These funds are vital to our day-to-day work — supporting students, teachers and innovative instruction. We’re responding with urgency and purpose, focused on protecting our staff and programs while staying flexible.â€
Newton-Conover City Schools Public Information Officer John Robinson said the district was impacted by the funding freeze.
“If funds aren’t released, we’ll have to look at ways to tighten the belt,†Robinson said.
