The U.S. Department of Education told states Friday that it was canceling previous approvals to spend down remaining COVID-19 recovery funds, a change that could mean $418 million to the Maryland Department of Education.
The change was announced in a letter from U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon that was dated Friday at 5 p.m., and said the decision to cancel the pandemic funding was effective — Friday at 5 p.m.
“Shock does not begin to describe our reaction when we received the notification late Friday evening,” Maryland State Superintendent Carey Wright said Monday. “This jeopardizes over $400 million in funding.”
Wright called the federal agency’s decision “catastrophic,” noting that the money has already been spent or at least committed to the state’s 24 school systems. She said the money is being used for tutoring, reading materials, after-school programming, even some construction projects such as repairs for heating and air conditioning units, among others.
State officials said about $305.2 million has already been spent but not reimbursed by the federal department. Another $112.8 million is in “encumbered” funds not paid out by the state, which means school systems must immediately stop any ongoing work on capital projects, or educational programs.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by William Ford over at Maryland Matters
