As of July 30, SPAPSD had still not received its portion of funds as the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction worked through its allocation process.
STEVENS POINT – President Donald Trump’s administration announced it would release federal funds for school districts July 25, ending weeks of uncertainty and number-crunching by school district staff.
Federal funds will begin to arrive at school districts the week of July 28, Madi Biedermann, a deputy assistant secretary for communications at the White House, said in an email received by USA TODAY.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget previously announced a hold on releasing the funds June 30, a day before districts nationwide expected to receive the funds, for a “review” of the purpose of the funds.
“OMB has completed its review of Title I-C, Title II-A, Title III-A, and Title IV-A ESEA funds and Title II WIOA funds, and has directed the Department to release all formula funds,” Biedermann wrote, referencing sections of the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act, which allocates the funds.
Release of the federal money ends weeks of district time spent examining how funds are allocated.
The return of funds school districts had already planned to include in their annual budget signals an end to weeks of district staff time devoted to tracking down where the funds are spent and what the impact of not receiving them might be.
The Stevens Point Area Public School District initially faced an estimated $680,000 reduction in federal funding, Mike Kurtz, the district’s business services director, told a Stevens Point Journal reporter July 16.
These congressionally allocated funds are intended for things like education for migratory children, class size reduction, before- and after-school care, English language acquisition, and other supplementary learning materials.
A portion of the total funds used for before- and after-school care, also known as 21st Century Community Learning Centers, were announced to be released July 21. SPAPSD routed $317,000 of its total allocation for the 2024-25 school year to the Boys & Girls Club of Portage County to provide after-school care, according to Kurtz.
A portion of these funds are also routed to private schools within the district, including Pacelli Catholic Schools, Stevens Point Christian Academy, The Roman Catholic Parish of Sacred Heart and St. Paul Lutheran Elementary School. These schools use these funds for teacher training and professional development workshops, Kurtz said.
Federal funds are a small portion of the Stevens Point Area Public School District’s budget but still have an impact.
While the formerly frozen federal funds only make up a small percentage of SPAPSD’s more than $145 million budget, they still have an impact on district students, Kutz said.
As of 3:40 p.m. July 30, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has received grant award notifications, or confirmation of allocation of funds, from the Department of Education, Chris Bucher, DPI interim director of communications, told a Stevens Point Journal reporter. The department’s legal team is currently reviewing the allocation prior to accepting the funds and further announcements regarding the funds will likely be made in upcoming days.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK – Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@gannett.com.