Trump administration cuts $106M in unspent COVID relief from Mass. schools

Boston Globe

01-04-2025

Just two districts account for the majority of the unspent funds: Springfield, with $47.4 million remaining, and New Bedford, with $15.6 million. Eighteen other districts were affected, including Fitchburg, Everett, Revere, and Boston. It's not immediately clear what particular plans were affected in each district.
Advertisement
The funds largely went to high-poverty districts like the Gateway Cities, and those districts also have the bulk of the unspent funds.
The primary deadline to spend use the funds was Sept. 30, and the vast majority have been spent. But districts were
'By failing to meet the clear deadline in the regulation, you ran the risk that the Department would deny your extension request,'
Advertisement
The terminated funds are estimated to affect more than $2 billion across the country. But they're limited to certain types of spending, with districts already
Related
:
'At a time when students are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, we need to be doing everything we can to address learning loss and the youth mental health crisis,' Healey said in a statement. 'Instead, President Trump suddenly ripped away more than $100 million in funding that is supposed to go right to Massachusetts students and schools.'
But the Education Department will still consider extensions for individual projects, according to the letter.
Projects affected by the termination in Massachusetts include mental health supports, math tutoring, and school security and air quality improvements, according to the state news release.
Two private religious
schools, Holyoke's Mater Dolorosa and Chicopee's Saint Stanislaus, were also affected by cuts to a separate 'Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools' program. Funds for state-backed teacher training were also terminated.
'We are not back yet from the pandemic. We know that many students in Massachusetts and across the country are still experiencing pandemic-related learning loss and mental health challenges,' said Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler in a statement. 'The Trump administration's outrageous and cruel decision, in which we received notice of a new arbitrary deadline, will have real harm to our students and their learning and wellbeing.'
Advertisement
Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, called the decision an 'act of educational sabotage' in a separate news release.
'These are dollars that were already in the pipeline — funds our schools were depending on for mental health supports, tutoring, clean air in classrooms, and school safety upgrades,' Rodrigues said. 'Stripping these away with no warning isn't just bad policy — it's an all-out assault on the future of our kids.'
The loss of residual funds could worsen the budget crunches
One-fifth of the primary funding source, the American Rescue Plan Act, had to be spent on academic recovery, while the rest was largely unrestricted.
Because it was one-time funds,
Springfield Public Schools, which is losing the most money, was allocated nearly $250 million in relief funds,
Four of the affected districts — Dracut, West Springfield, Fall River, and Ludlow — voted for Trump in the 2024 election. The other 16 voted for Harris.
Advertisement
Christopher Huffaker can be reached at