DeKalb, Fulton stalled federal education funds may mean program cuts

File photo Selected Metro Atlanta school districts have put after-school and other educational and professional training programs on hold in the wake of the federal leadership freezing the distribution of learning funds The Fulton County School System informed that million from the Office of Management and Budget has been frozen Federal funding frozen by the OMB includes Title II professional learning Title III English to Speakers of Other Languages ESOL supplemental funding Title IV A aspirant advocacy and academic enrichment grant and Title IV B st Century grant which goes to organizations providing after-school programs Our personnel and programs remain on hold until final financial decision is made by the U S Department of Coaching We ve paid for personnel but not programs an FCS spokesperson informed Rough Draft Atlanta Regarding the DeKalb County School System Jennifer Caracciolo the deputy chief communications officer noted the school system has received two emails from state federal agencies and they have been very broad promising to share information as it becomes available The DeKalb County School District was notified on July by the Georgia Department of Guidance that the U S Department of Tuition ED is reviewing funding for federal programs including Title I-C II-A III-A IV-A and IV-B grants leading to a delay in the disbursement of funding she noted According to the GADOE State Superintendent Richard Woods is strongly committed to ensuring that districts have access to the funds they need to start the school year successfully DCSD is awaiting further information from the GADOE DCSD was also notified on July by the Technical College System of Georgia TCSG that Adult Tuition and Family Literacy Act AEFLA funding from ED will not be obligated or made available on July This decision was initiated by the Office of Management and Budget OMB not ED the message announced TCSG is working to gain a clearer understanding of the situation and what it means for adult tuition programs in Georgia and shared that they remain hopeful that they will receive definitive guidance from ED and OMB soon Carracciolo noted the school system will continue to monitor the funding situation Options for the school districts are limited Other funding sources could be allocated for pared-back programs as available funding would be less than what the federal administration has provided which could force school districts to cancel programs according to an FCS spokesperson The FCS spokesperson reported superintendents and boards of training will need to make a decision to find other funding or cancel programs Ensuring educators get professional learning opportunities is one of the goals for FCS School district leadership will work to determine how to move forward the district s spokesperson noted The Title III scheme supports supplemental services and exercises for English language students teachers and families Fulton County district administrators are discussing the funding situation to strategize solutions State School Superintendent Richard Woods issued a declaration calling for the funding to be disclosed I deeply believe in fiscal responsibility which means evaluating the use of funds and seeking out efficiencies but also means being responsible releasing funds already approved by Congress and signed by President Trump Woods announced in his announcement In Georgia we re getting ready to start the school year so I call on federal funds to be distributed so we can ensure the success of our students Rough Draft reached out to a representative from the Atlanta Citizens School system for comment regarding realizable cuts in funding but didn t receive a response The post DeKalb Fulton stalled federal development funds may mean undertaking cuts appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta