Childcare programs at six county schools in limbo after Trump administration withholds billions in pre-approved education funding

The future is hazy for after-school and summer programming for hundreds of kids at a handful of schools around Spokane after the Trump administration withheld previously approved funding.

The federal dollars for after-school activities are part of around $6 billion withheld in education grants nationwide that pay for child care, adult literacy programs, English language learner education, staff training and migrant education.

The U.S. Education Department is putting these grants “under review” to ensure their intent is in line with the Trump administration’s priorities, according to reporting from NPR.

Washington state stands to lose $137 million in grants in these areas, per federal allocations outlined in these areas, according to an analysis from think tank Learning Policy Institute. That’s 15.6% of the state’s total funding from the department.

A program at six county schools facilitated by Communities in Schools of Northeast Washington faces uncertainty, Executive Director Debra Raub said. She is unsure if they will continue to offer a summer, before- and after-school program after August.

The nonprofit organization hosts these programs at no cost to families, funded through federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, which are meant to serve designated schools for five years.

There are six schools who will start their third year of the five-year grant.

“It is unknown today whether the funding that had already been approved by the Biden administration and approved by Congress, if those funds are going to be released so we can continue those programs in those schools,” Raub said.

The grant doles out $500,000 per school per year. In Spokane Public Schools, Regal, Cooper, Stevens and Bemiss elementary schools are beginning their third year of the grant cycle facing premature cutting. West Valley’s Orchard Center and Seth Woodard elementary schools are also in their third year.

All told, it’s $9 million that Raub expected in the next three years that the organization may lose.

“This is a huge resource, and it’d be a big hit to those schools that are really loving that extra support that those kids get through that program,” Raub said.

Lidgerwood and Logan elementary schools and Shaw and Garry middle schools are in the fifth year of the same grant, which will roll off with no interruptions, Raub said.

In addition to supplies for after-school and summer programs, the grant funds a full-time staffer in each served school who works one-on-one with students to boost attendance and coordinate resources like housing, food, health care, clothes and other essentials. Each student-support coordinator works with around 30 kids at their designated school, Raub said.

“Our student-support coordinators, essentially they’re mentors in those schools,” Raub said. “They provide all those things so the kid can sit in class with dignity and feel part of the team, and are more engaged in school and graduate on time.”

The grant pays the salaries and training of six student-support coordinators, plus a program director to oversee all six schools. Raub said she will likely transfer these staff to other positions within the Communities in Schools nonprofit if they lose their positions in schools.

The coordinators also plan programming during nonschool hours, tailored to whatever kids’ specific interests are to give them a reason to come to school if academics are not doing the trick. Focuses include slime-making, Dungeons & Dragons, baking, gardening, sports or whatever else a kid could think up. Typically, nonschool hour programs serve around 30 kids at each building, or 500 when considering all six schools under the federal grant.

After-school programs run until 5:30 p.m., Raub said, giving working parents ample time to pick up their students after the school bell rings.

In the summers, programs run for four weeks, 20 hours per week, lessening the financial burden of child care.

“Kids get breakfast, they get a snack, they get lunch, so they’re being fed and being engaged in physical activities and STEM activities and field trips and all that at no cost,” Raub said.

Raub said the extra staff and supervised programs are especially necessary in schools with larger populations of poorer students who often encounter barriers to success in school, including transportation, housing or food insecurity or adequate child care. That’s a major focus of these programs, Raub said, but providers are always around to help a student regardless of their family’s income level.

“There’s such a greater need now; it’s more complex than it used to be,” Raub said. “We really just support students and families that are in need.”

The six schools who could lose the grant program average more than 74% low-income enrollment.

“Seeing the impact that it can have on our most vulnerable students and families in our area are the ones that get left behind here, and they’re the ones that need the most support,” Raub said. “It’s really devastating.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been changed to correct the name of Communities in Schools of Northeast Washington.