Feds delay $58 million for Arkansas child programs
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Arkansas is going without more than $58 million in federal education funding that was expected to be accessible on July 1 but has yet to be released by the Trump administration.
The big picture: The Department of Education's funding delay has exacerbated the uncertainty for after-school, summer and other programs, leaving schools in limbo, advocates and policy experts say.
- The Education Department said in a last-minute notice that the funds would not be released while the programs were under review, according to the School Superintendents Association.
By the numbers: An estimated $6.2 billion nationally in K-12 funds across five programs remains unavailable, according to the Learning Policy Institute, which conducts research to improve education policies.
- That includes funding for after-school and summer learning through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, money to support migratory children, educator development funds and more.
SOAR Afterschool, a nonprofit serving about 550-600 children in Kindergarten through 5th grade in Springdale and Rogers, has had all $800,000 of its federal funding withheld, chief development officer Ellie Hoyt told Axios.
- That's about 70% of the organization's budget. It's unlikely that SOAR will be able to continue at its current scale without the money, Hoyt said.
- The program aims to help kids with homework and offer programs in art, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and recreation plus enable the 400 families it serves to have job stability. Children can stay until 6pm, allowing parents to take jobs or job shifts.
- It also operates a leadership development program with participating students from additional schools.
Boys & Girls Clubs in Arkansas stand to lose about $2 million, Cheryl Hatfield, CEO at the Boys & Girls Club of Benton County, told Axios in an email.
- "Up to 10 Boys & Girls Clubs could be forced to shut their doors, and more than 9,400 kids will lose access to vital foundations such as nutritious meals, supportive mentors, and safe spaces during the most crucial hours of the day," she wrote.
- It would also mean the loss of 90 jobs at Boys & Girls Clubs in Arkansas, Hatfield added.
- The Benton County club operates a 21st Century Community Learning Center at Lowell Elementary that serves 50 children daily, "providing critical academic support to students who need it most" at no cost to their families.
- All of the $100,000 in annual funding it receives is needed to sustain the program, Hatfield said.
Zoom in: The Arkansas Department of Education does not have a breakdown of how much funding is being withheld from which schools or organizations, spokesperson Kimberly Mundell told Axios.
- "We remain hopeful that the federal government will reconsider withholding these vital funds and continue supporting these essential programs for our students," Rogers Public Schools spokesperson Jason Ivester told Axios in an email.
What they're saying: The U.S. Department of Education referred Axios' questions for this story to the Office of Management and Budget. An OMB spokesperson said no decisions have been made amid "an ongoing programmatic review of education funding."
The bottom line: "Short term, [there are] a lot of very anxious programs and very anxious parents, because they don't know if their kids are going to be able to have after-school, but that will very quickly turn into programs reducing how many kids they can serve and or closing their doors," Jodi Grant, the executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, told Axios.