President Donald Trump’s administration is withholding tens of thousands of dollars from Nebo School District meant to support migrant children; hundreds of thousands from afterschool and summer programs in Davis School District; and more than $1 million for English learners in Granite School District.
Those figures are only estimates based on data The Salt Lake Tribune obtained this month from the Utah State Board of Education. Final allocations remain unknown after the U.S. Department of Education suddenly paused $6.8 billion in federal education funding nationwide late last month, officials said.
The decision came just a day before the funds were set to be released on July 1 and made available for the 2025-26 school year. In an email, federal officials told USBE and other state education agencies the pause was so they could “review” the expected grants and “ensure taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities.”
Utah’s freeze totals more than $40 million across public schools, community organizations and a few universities, according to USBE’s estimates, based on previous allocations from fiscal 2023-24.
School districts account for most of that, with roughly $29.7 million now withheld from districts and specific programs within them.
The pause specifically puts six federal education grants at risk. All of the state’s 41 school districts — and dozens of charters and nonprofit organizations — receive at least one of them.
Here’s how much USBE was anticipating from each now-frozen grant:
Before the freeze, the grants had already been approved by Congress and signed by Trump earlier this year as part of a continuing resolution that is supposed to provide federal funding through Sept. 30, when federal fiscal year 2025 ends.
Many districts have some grant money left over from last year’s allocations, because they have about two years to spend it. They’re working with USBE to stretch those dollars as far as they can.
But with no indication from Trump’s administration as to when — or if — the expected funds will be released, some districts are dipping into reserves to keep programs going.
Others, like the Grand County School District, say they’re waiting on more information from USBE to determine next steps.
“Until the state knows exactly how much they’re going to be cut, we don’t know exactly how much it’s going to impact us, so we’re still waiting to find out,” Superintendent Mike McFalls said in an email.
The district received roughly $172,000 across three at-risk grants last year, and according to USBE’s records, it has already spent the funds.
“We do anticipate that it will have some impact,” McFalls said.
Less than a third of last year’s funding has been reimbursed
All 41 districts — plus more than 100 charter schools and nonprofit organizations in Utah — received $37.5 million last year to use within 27 months.
Awards ranged from $210 to Mountain Sunrise Academy for supporting effective instruction to $5.2 million to Granite School District under various programs.
The money doesn’t go directly to schools and nonprofits; instead, as educators fund certain needs, they request reimbursement, which USBE then allocates using federal dollars.
As of July 3, awardees had requested reimbursement for $12.4 million — just less than ⅓ of the money awarded.
Sixty-eight awardees hadn’t yet submitted for any reimbursement by that date, though that doesn’t necessarily mean they haven’t spent any money, USBE officials said.
Nine districts — all covering larger, more urban areas — each had more than $1 million left to be reimbursed.
And 30 awardees had spent and been reimbursed for all of their funds.
With the federal freeze, school districts can continue to be reimbursed for grants awarded in federal fiscal 2024 (which started Oct. 1, 2023 and ended Sept. 30, 2024), USBE officials said.
But for now, they can’t access any fiscal 2025 funds that were expected July 1.
Salt Lake City School District relying on reserve dollars
Salt Lake City School District students won’t lose access to services or programs funded by the at-risk grants – at least not this school year – because the district plans to dip into its reserve funds, said Yándary Chatwin, a spokesperson for the district.
That fund currently sits at $20 million, she said. Across the five at-risk grants the district receives, the expected shortfall is about $2.6 million, USBE estimates.
“We try to practice good financial planning,” said Chatwin, “to save some for a rainy day. And a rainy day is here.”
SLCSD’s largest at-risk grant is geared toward adult education and family literacy — an estimated $689,000 — followed by $500,000 for English-language learners.
According to USBE’s records, SLCSD has not requested reimbursement for about $2 million it was awarded last year.
While the district doesn’t anticipate layoffs or program interruptions this upcoming school year, they may need to “reassess” next school year if the promised funds don’t come through, Chatwin said.
Freeze leads to lawsuits
And they may not, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled Trump may move forward with plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, beginning with laying off more than 1,400 people, The Associated Press reported.
The order temporarily lifts a lower court ruling that had halted Trump’s plan while the case continues to play out.
Also on Monday, 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over the federal funding freeze, NPR reported, arguing it has caused “ongoing harm” and “injury” to K-12 students and adult learners.
Utah was not one of those states. The Tribune reached out to both the Utah governor’s and attorney general’s offices to inquire if it had been asked to join the complaint, but neither responded.
Gov. Spencer Cox has previously voiced his support of Trump’s plan to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
In a March opinion piece published in the Washington Examiner, a conservative news outlet based in Washington, D.C., Cox argued that public education should be governed solely by the states, even if the lack of national oversight, as some have argued, may cause some states to fall behind.
“The idea that Utah — or any state — needs Washington bureaucrats overseeing our schools is both outdated and wrong,” he wrote.