Kentucky Department of Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher says the Trump Administration’s decision to disallow further spending of COVID-relief funds could cost the state and local school districts $56 million. Carter County schools superintendent Paul Green said the recission means the loss of more than $4.1 million to prepare the site for a new consolidated high school and career tech center.
“We have East Carter High School, West Carter High School and the Carter County Career Tech Center. So the plan is to close those three facilities into to build, construct a new central high school and career tech center.”
Fletcher said he received a letter from the U.S. Department of Education on March 28th informing him the deadline to spend remaining COVID relief funds was March 28th. Green said if the federal funds aren’t returned, they’ll have to reduce the amenities or the building itself.
“It's just very disappointing, you know, for us, you know, we felt like that our plan and our decision to use these funds to construct a new school was by far the best use of these funds.”
Green said the project was slowed by federal rules and regulations, including discussion of Carter Caves and bats with the Environmental Protection Agency.
