Springfield collects $41M of $47M school funding threatened by Trump
SPRINGFIELD — As of this week, Springfield has been able to claim all but $6 million of the $47 million in COVID-era aid from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund.
The city had received $41 million as of Monday, Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said Thursday. The new $3 million amphitheater for the Springfield High School of Science and Technology and its award-winning band will be built, Sarno said. So, too, will work continue on installation of air conditioning in at least 10 more of the city's 66 school buildings.
'We are moving forward,' Sarno said.
It is money that was imperiled by new cuts ordered by President Donald Trump but was clawed back last week by a federal court ruling in New York State.
Across the state, the Trump administration terminated $106 million in K-through-12 education grant funding, and nearly half of it — $47.3 million — was destined for Springfield.
West Springfield was able to claim all of its $9 million in ESSER funds. That includes $354,868 in funding that the Trump administration froze. West Side schools used it to air condition its middle school and for two 14 passenger vans for sports teams and special education programs, said West Springfield Mayor William C. Reichelt.
Holyoke received more than $1.3 million through ESSER and already had drawn down all but about $400,000, when the new administration stopped the program abruptly at the end of March.
The school district initially had been told it had until March 2026 to claim the money. When the money was canceled, new federal administrators in the U.S. Department of Education said the COVID-19 pandemic was over.
But schools were given extensions because they were delayed in spending the money — with contractors and equipment not available for school renovations and air conditioning, for example — stalling their reimbursement claims.
Sixteen states, including Massachusetts, sued in federal court. On May 6, Judge Edgardo Ramos of U.S. District Court in New York ordered the Department of Education to immediately restore states' access to more than $1 billion as the case continues.
'The Trump administration's illegal decision to cut off essential education funding put some of our most vulnerable students at risk of falling behind in school,' said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. 'This is a major win for our students and teachers who are counting on this funding to help them succeed.'
The Education Department responded this week with yet another 'Dear Colleagues' letter, this one acknowledging Ramos' ruling and giving schools until next week, May 24, to claim the funds.
Joining James in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and the District of Columbia, along with the governor of Pennsylvania.
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