SLO County education programs at risk amid ‘unprecedented’ federal funding freeze
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal freeze halts local education funds, hindering support for underserved groups.
- SLO County slashes summer migrant programs to 30%, cutting staff and student services.
- Districts face tough choices as they decide how to respond to federal freeze.
Jobs, summer programming and migrant education are in limbo after a federal funding freeze withheld money from local school districts and the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education.
The freeze was announced on June 30, just one day before states expected to receive the money — and the last-minute decision has had immediate impacts.
According to SLO County assistant superintendent of educational support services Joe Koski, the hold has forced the county office to operate its summer migrant education programming at just a fraction of what it normally would, leaving children without the bulk of the summer learning support they would typically receive.
Koski described the disruptive freeze as “unprecedented.”
“I’ve been in public education 38 years,” he said. “I’m unaware of any time where funding that went through the legal and lawful budget process was held at the last minute by the administration.”
Federal government hits schools with last-minute freeze
The SLO County Office of Education received a letter from the California Department of Education announcing the funding freeze on July 1 — the same day states were set to receive the 2025-26 school year funds.
In the notice, which was obtained by The Tribune, the state agency said it received word about the freeze in “brief emails” from the U.S. Department of Education on June 30.
Among the monies frozen by the Trump administration were Title I-C funds for migrant education, Title II-A funds for professional development, Title III-A funds meant to support English learners and Title IV-A funds for student support services, according to the July 1 notice. Also frozen were basic adult education grants.
The Trump administration also originally withheld Title IV-B money for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which provide before- and after-school programming, but these funds were later released.
According to Koski, the funding freeze targets the children who are most at risk of falling through the cracks.
“Unfortunately, from my perspective as an educator, the funds that we’re talking about as being frozen are funds that are directly intended to support some of the most marginalized and underserved portions of our population,” Koski said.
The state department estimated the withheld funds amounted to nearly $1 billion for California schools and education organizations. Approximately $157.5 million for after-school programming has since been released to California by the Trump administration, according to a July 22 communication.
In the initial notice, the state department alleged the freeze was illegal — and California and a group of other states soon filed a lawsuit in response to the freeze, according to a July 14 memo from the state.
As far as guidance for how districts and county offices should respond to the freeze, the state department offered little.
“We understand the uncertainty that our school communities are experiencing due to this latest action by the Trump administration,” the July 1 letter read. “With the information we have at this stage, we cannot make recommendations about how local educational agencies (LEAs) should proceed with related programs at this time. Any decisions about pausing, stopping, or continuing to provide services funded by these dollars is at the discretion of LEAs.”
It was not immediately clear how much money was being withheld from SLO County, but Koski said it was “not an insignificant amount.”
In a later email, Koski told The Tribune the exact numbers would not be available until late August.
What’s at risk for SLO County students, staff?
The SLO County Office of Education runs a year-long migrant education program, but the summer programming is typically the most popular, Koski told the Tribune.
And this summer, thanks to the federal funding freeze, the program is operating at about 30% of what it normally would, leaving students with fewer resources and supports.
A migrant student is defined as having a parent who works in an industry like agriculture, dairy or fishing, which requires them to frequently move to remain employed.
“Just because the word migrant is in the title, doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with their status as it relates to being able to legally work and live in our in our country,” Koski said.
He added that migrant students are particularly at risk of falling behind, and migrant education programs aim to bridge the gap.
“As you can imagine, when you pick up and move from one school to another, particularly if it’s across the state, that frequently there is educational loss involved in the move, and leaving a school, and records catching up, and getting re-enrolled and those types of things,” he said.
Personnel is one of the largest expenses for education agencies. By reducing the program by 70%, the county also had to reduce staff, Koski said.
Though the migrant education program is taking one of the heaviest hits, Koksi said the funding freeze will affect other county programming including juvenile education and other programs.
At the district level, staff could lose out on professional development opportunities and after-school programs may not be offered, according to the county office.
Additionally, staff positions funded by federal dollars — typically paraprofessionals staged in classrooms to offer extra support to students — could be cut in local schools as a result of the freeze.
County, district responses to freeze may vary
Districts were notified of the funding freeze on the same day states expected to receive the federal dollars, leaving virtually no turnaround time for administrators or state officials to plan their next steps.
The news also comes after districts already set their budgets for the year, anticipating federal dollars that may not arrive.
Districts and county offices are now faced with a choice: continue running programming and paying salaries without the federal dollars, potentially dipping into reserves to do so — or start making cuts.
The county office elected to continue operating its migrant education program in hopes that, if the federal government does release the funds, county officials could make a case for a reimbursement to pay back the reserve monies used to keep the program running over the summer.
But some SLO County districts are already struggling financially. Both the San Luis Coastal and Paso Robles districts already made budget cuts this year in an attempt to correct their deficits, upsetting families and staff in the process.
For these districts, Koski said, the freeze serves as a “double whammy.”
It’s unclear when, or if, the federal government will restore the funding owed to local education agencies. But according to the county, the disruption caused by the freeze will have still done damage either way.
“What is clearly going to be the case is there will be dramatic reductions in services compared to what would have been offered if the funds that the Congress approved were allocated as they always, traditionally have been,” Koski said.
“Unfortunately,” he later added, “where the impact is going to be felt the most is in those students and those communities that are underserved currently in our system, and need these supports more than ever.”
