The Trump Administration has frozen $6.2 billion in federal education funds. According to the state Department of Education, that means $87 million less for Kentucky school districts. Doug Bechanan is the Nicholas County Schools superintendent. He said nearly $200,000 is at stake in his district.
“It's a particular troubling because all these funds go back directly back to students, and a lot of these funds go to salaries of people that we already have contractual obligations to.”
Bechanan said their migrant education program, which assists transient workers who travel for farm jobs, could face the biggest cut.
“We help those families adjust to here, adjust a different education, different community we've got, and those programs help with educational programs and giving additional assistance with that. So that would be a substantial cut to us if we had to adjust to that.”
Other programs targeted by the U.S. Department of Education include English Language Acquisition and 21st Century Learning Centers. A spokesperson for the state Education Department said they were given one day’s notice about the freeze.
