COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio is allocating over $1.5 million to schools in Springfield to help them with the challenges caused by the area's Haitian migrant population. Gov. Mike DeWine announced the funding this week, and it included $1.3 million for Springfield City Schools and $12,000 each for two academies. "Schools in Springfield and other communities that have been dealing with sudden increases in their student population have no doubt been strained," DeWine said. "These funds will help to relieve some of this pressure and create a better learning environment for all students in these communities." Springfield has been in the national spotlight since former President Donald Trump and his Republican running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, began pushing unfounded reports that the migrants were stealing and eating pets. And it could come up again Tuesday night during a vice presidential debate between Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said Sept. 10 at a debate with the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. His son died in a crash with a Haitian immigrant. He says Trump, Vance are using it for ‘political gain’ In the days that followed, dozens of hoax bomb threats were made against government buildings and schools, prompting DeWine to call in extra law enforcement for daily sweeps of schools.  DeWine and Mayor Rob Rue, both Republicans, have insisted the stories of migrants eating pets were untrue. "They are there legally. They are there to work," DeWine wrote in The New York Times. The root of the issue appears to be the city becoming home to some 15,000 legal Haitian migrants over recent years, drawn there by opportunities to work, and the strain that is putting on services.   The migrants from Haiti — known as one of the poorest developing countries in the world — received temporary protected status from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, allowing them to stay in the U.S. due to conditions there.  Immigration has been one of the biggest issues during the presidential election, with Republicans repeatedly pointing to how President Joe Biden and his administration have handled the southern border. Democrats have pointed to the Senate rejecting a bill that would have shored up the border, with Trump calling for the bill’s rejection.