Department of Education yanks back $5.6M from JD Vance's hometown school district
Middletown's school district ‒ where Vice President JD Vance was a student ‒ stands to lose millions of promised federal dollars after a funding recall from the U.S. Department of Education, the district said.
The Department of Education is recalling roughly $15 million across 18 Ohio school districts, Dan Wohler, the Middletown City Schools spokesperson, told The Enquirer. The funds were previously awarded to districts through two COVID-era relief programs: the American Rescue Plan, and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief.
Middletown City Schools stands to lose $5.6 million in funds, which the district planned to use to build a new transportation center. The district was approved to receive $6.76 million toward the project in February, and had already received $1.2 million. The total cost is $10 million.
The Enquirer called the U.S. Department of Education, which President Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle, but its media relations phone line was temporarily closed. The spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce did not immediately return The Enquirer's call.
Construction on Middletown schools' transportation center is almost half-done. The new facility will house an updated school bus garage, fueling station and space to perform bus maintenance. School buses are currently being parked at a temporary facility, the lease for which expires this fall, Wohler said.
"The new facility is designed to address aging transportation infrastructure and consolidate maintenance operations to better serve MCSD students and families," a statement from the district read. "A $5.6 million shortfall would stall construction indefinitely and risk losing the investments already made."
Three local Republican lawmakers wrote letters to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. Middletown schools provided the content of them to The Enquirer, in support of the district.
"As a fiscal conservative, I fully understand the need to cut unnecessary funding and applaud the efforts to eliminate excessive covid-era spending. However, there are certain projects, such as Middletown School's transportation construction project, that deserve flexibility given the investment they have made," U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson wrote.
Davidson co-sponsored a bill that would terminate the Department of Education at the end of next year.
But the letter to McMahon signals the second time Davidson has gone against the Trump administration in recent weeks. The congressman, who is a staunch Trump supporter, was one of two House Republicans to vote against a major tax and immigration bill, prompting White House officials to say Trump would like to see Davidson primaried.
Ohio Rep. Thomas Hall and state Sen. George Lang also wrote letters to McMahon asking the department to release the funds to Middletown schools.
"I strongly believe it is unfair for a school to receive approval, begin construction after receiving a portion of the funds, and then be notified they will not be receiving the remainder ‒ nobody can conduct business in this manner," Lang wrote.
Wohler, the district spokesperson, said Middletown schools also reached out to Vance. The Middletown native held his first rally as a vice presidential candidate at Middletown High School, his alma mater, last July.
The Enquirer also asked Vance's spokesperson for comment, but has not yet received a response.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: School district in JD Vance's hometown to lose $5.6M in federal funds
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