A federal funding freeze has left many scrambling for answers.
The freeze was first outlined in one of President Donald Trump’s inauguration day executive orders. But a White House memorandum released Monday orders federal agencies to temporarily halt “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance” starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28.
West Virginia received more than $7 billion in federal funds for fiscal year 2021, the most recent year data is available. According to analysis by the data nonprofit USAFacts, almost 9% of that money – more than $600 million – went to the state’s schools and other educational programs.
Kristie Skidmore, president of the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia (AFT-WV), said it is unclear how the payment stop will impact workers paid through federal programs ranging from Title I to Head Start.
“I’ve had teachers contacting me today that are paid through federal programs saying ‘How’s this affect me?’ and I just can’t answer their questions,” Skidmore said. “There are still a lot of unknowns, but what we do know is that it is creating some panic, some confusion and chaos in the lives of our working families.”
Initial analysis indicates that programs like Title I, which distributes its funds months ahead of school semesters, would not be immediately affected by the freeze, but Skidmore said the fate of the federally funded school meal programs like the National Free Lunch Program are also unclear at this time.
“We also know that our students are fed with federal funds in our schools, so that’s a concern at this time as well,” she said.
Title I aims to close educational achievement gaps by allocating federal funds to schools with a high percentage of low-income students. More than half of West Virginia schools qualified for Title I funding in the 2021-22 school year, and the state received more than $60 million from the program.
The Head Start program, which provides early education and comprehensive services to children and families in greatest need, provided more than $80 million to West Virginia in fiscal year 2024.
Federal agencies that provide Federal financial assistance now have until Feb. 7 to complete a spreadsheet asking questions such as:
- Does this program provide Federal funding to nongovernmental organizations supporting or providing services, either directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens?
- Does this program promote gender ideology?
- Does this program promote or support in any way abortion or other related activities identified in the Hyde Amendment?
- Does this program support any activities that must not be supported based on executive orders issued on or after January 20, 2025 (including executive orders released following the dissemination of this spreadsheet)?
Vectorfusionart/Adobe Stock