|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Massachusetts’ senators and members of Congress are urging U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “reverse course” and restore $106 million in cancelled education grants, including $15 million to New Bedford Public Schools.
Last week, The Light broke news in Massachusetts that the federal Department of Education had clawed back millions of dollars from New Bedford and other districts around the country without any formal announcement. In fact, the letter sent to state education secretaries on March 28 at 5:03 p.m. informed them the funds had already been cancelled.
New Bedford officials have since scrambled to reallocate funding to save ongoing construction projects for a central kitchen and at Hathaway and Brooks elementary schools. A project for a school-based health center and HVAC improvements at Gomes Elementary are at risk of cancellation, district officials have said.
Now, the Massachusetts congressional delegation — its senators and representatives to the U.S. House — are asking the education secretary to reconsider, and they cited impacts on New Bedford.
“We are alarmed at this abrupt termination of congressionally authorized and appropriated funding for education in Massachusetts and astonished at the callous disregard for the wellbeing of students, educators, and communities,” read a letter signed by U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and all nine of Massachusetts’ U.S. representatives, including Bill Keating, who represents New Bedford.
The letter says that “New Bedford faces more than $15 million in losses,” which is more than the $12 million cited by Superintendent Andrew O’Leary immediately after the announcement. Twenty districts in total were affected, and only Springfield — with $47 million in cuts — stands to lose more than New Bedford.
The letter from legislators reprimands the Trump administration for taking funds out of the hands of state and local administrators, and cites McMahon’s previous promise to “return education to the states.” The letter also says that the Trump administration is adding “red tape” for school districts by making them reapply for previously approved funds.
After the first story broke, Warren provided this statement to The Light: “The Trump administration is cutting off funding for health centers in our schools, clean air in our classrooms, and upgrades to our buildings — all to pay for tax cuts for Trump’s billionaire friends. Congress already approved this funding for Massachusetts schools and pulling the rug out from underneath them is wrong. I’m going to fight to get our schools every dollar they deserve.”
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
Four years after the bill passed (and almost two years after the COVID epidemic officially ended) should be enough time to spend the money allocated. The proposed activities do not seem to be directed towards remediating academic setbacks but seem more intended to supplanting local school districts’ obligations to maintain properties. The money should be recalled.
Here’s the thing – there was a plan to spend this money, hiring local folks, and helping our kids. Do you have an idea how long it takes to design, procure, bid and plan public sector projects? Besides, like WPA built highways and dams during the depression, this money was to get people back to work and fix parts of systems that the pandemic revealed to fragile or inadequate.
But, the money was not being used for what it is intended for. That’s the problem. COVID. Not all the crap they were using it for. Take the money back. I’m a Democrat.
You’re acting like the School Dept had this money in their pocket in March 2020 and just sat in it. The money wasn’t even finished being distributed until 2022 and the Treasury didn’t issue final rules on what it could spent on until this either.
Hey Booyah, I got your back!
Hello, fine when people weren’t working, but none of what they chose to use the money for, was for that reason.
The funds and the rules on how they could spent didn’t even get finalized until 2022. The district had less than two years to commit them to a project (Sept 2024) and then had to finish spending them by 2026. The administration pulled the rug out from local governments that spent a ton of time and money figuring out how to best spend the funding to address the impacts of the pandemic, the economic downturn, and the educational fallout. Now these projects are in limbo, local contractors do not get the jobs, students do not get improved facilities to delivery better education, and local taxpayers do not a get a refund for all the time administrators spent developing these projects based on the published federal guidelines.
Thanks for speaking up.
Money was not used for what it was intended, building schools, is not a COVID problem. PERIOD! Send it back!
Exactly.
How long does it take to well spend money?
Is the money needed?
Will it benefit New Bedford?
Should it go to a Red state?
Moral of story and comments: damned if you do too quickly, damned if you put too much thought and planning into it, so let’s not even try.
NB, you have some splainin to do.
This is ridiculous to take away from children period they need whatever they can acquire for public schools! Public schools already have less than and go without. Staffing and teaching issues decreased pay and has over populated classes. It’s sad greedy and illegal! I believe this is happening for spite and revenge in blue states! This needs to STOP! “HANDS OFF OUR STUDENTS”
It’s being done to red states too. Most of the things being cut hurt the red states most. Look at farming.
This has nothing to do with taking away from the children. It’s spending money from grants that they are created for. You can’t change what your using it for without possibly an amendment.
Booyah, Deby, and any other like-minded people: the Trump administration is making these cuts so that the wealthy do not have to pay the same percentage of taxes that those of us who are not wealthy have to pay. It is really that simple.
I can almost bet, I make less than you. I agree Trump is going to try to use the funds for that purpose. If we stop the waste locally, then step up and speak out about that exact issue, then things can stop in the track. Abusing funds for one thing does not make it right for another to do the same, even if it is the president. Stop wrong use, period!
Stop the waste and use funds for what they are intended for! That’s the English version. No matter what language it still means the same.
Not all of us walk the catwalk and are given things because we did. That’s just what going on here, fringe benefits, stop the waste. Mm
Waste, waste, waste… During COVID when people couldn’t work, they collected. Plus they got 1200.00- 1600.00 extra a week. The ones that did work nurses, doctors, police, fire, EMT. School custodians, grocery workers, where is there bonus money. Talk about a waste. Sickening. COVID waste.