By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Nearly $2 million in education funds are being withheld by the federal government that were previously approved for distribution to local schools, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is the newest official to put his name on a lawsuit challenging Trump’s administration for withholding the funds.
Beshear is joining leaders from 23 other states, and the District of Columbia, in a lawsuit calling the federal government’s decision to freeze $87 million in “education funding appropriated by Congress through the U.S. Department of Education” a violation of the “federal statutory and regulatory requirements.” The $87 million is the amount that had been appropriated for K-12 schools in Kentucky, of which the nearly $2 million would have been coming to the three local districts.
Glasgow Independent Schools announced that half-a-million dollars were withheld, Caverna Independent Schools said around $100,000 could be frozen and Barren County Schools announced a freeze of roughly $1.25 million.
State funds make up 49.26 percent of Glasgow funding with another 21.01 percent coming from federal sources; Caverna Independent state funding comprises 38.41 percent state and 24.85 percent federal; and Barren County Schools funding is 31.07 percent state and 12.96 percent federal, according to the 2023-24 school report card information.
Kentucky’s Department of Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher voiced his support of the challenge, commenting that the freeze is having “many negative impacts upon the Commonwealth’s students.”
“The first instructional day for many of our districts is just three weeks away,” Fletcher wrote in a press release. “Instead of making final preparations to welcome students back into the classroom, many of our schools are developing plans to reduce staff, cancel programs and eliminate student supports if these federal funds are not immediately released to Kentucky. The delay or withholding of these Congressionally appropriated funds will impact all our districts, with an especially large impact on Kentucky’s most vulnerable students.”
He said the federal funding goes towards “services for children who move frequently and their families, professional development for our teachers, services for English learners to help them meet our challenging state academic standards, academic enrichment programs, tutoring services and remedial education activities.”
For Kentucky, federal funds amounted to $87 million being appropriated to the Kentucky Department of Education and $9 million appropriated to the Education and Labor Cabinet for grant funding for adult literacy, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“This is not about Democrat or Republican – these funds were appropriated by Congress for the education of Kentucky’s children, and it’s my job to ensure we get them,” Beshear said. “In Kentucky, $96 million in federal education funds are at risk. Our kids and our future depend on a strong education, and these funds are essential to making sure our kids succeed.”
States that have joined the lawsuit with Kentucky include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.
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