Last year, school districts across the country applied for extensions to spend the last remaining dollars of federal COVID-19 relief funding by March 2026 instead of its original deadline of January 2025. Connecticut’s last $14 million was earmarked mostly for programs within the state Depart ment of Education. Just over $6 million of the funds were granted to roughly two dozen K-12 school districts, to be used by the 2026 deadline. New London and Waterbury would receive the bulk of those dollars — $1.96 million and $1.46 million, respectively. That’s all in limbo now, and several districts’ budgets may be in disarray, after a late Friday notice from the federal Department of Education saying the “extended liquidation period … [was] already well past the period of performance.” The extension was no longer “justified,” the letter read. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called for the funds to be spent this year by March 28, the same date as the letter. Leadership at the Waterbury and New London school districts said the funding freeze would cause a “substantial hit” to their budgets. The funds were obligated for projects that in many cases had already been contracted — in some cases the work was completed — and were just awaiting payment. In Waterbury, district leadership had put the funding toward upgrades to its HVAC systems, mainly installing air conditioning in its 13 elementary schools. “In the last three years, we’ve had to call half days in certain schools because some of our classrooms get up into the mid-90s,” Interim Superintendent Darren Schwartz said in an interview Wednesday with the Connecticut Mirror. Schwartz further explained that many contracts were in place before September 2024, but the district had requested the extension in hopes of testing the cooling systems once the weather got warmer before full payment. “That’s typically best practice,” Schwartz said, before adding that “unless this decision gets reversed somehow, we’re going to have to use our capital funds, which is local taxpayer money, to pay for this work that was previously approved by the federal government.” In New London, Robert Funk, the district’s executive director of finance, said the district intended to use its funding to offset a fiscal cliff that plagued urban districts across the country in the aftermath of COVID. “With good fiscal planning, we were trying to use these funds as long as we could,” Funk said. Most of the $1.9 million granted to New London had been slated to cover this years’ transportation costs, but leaders were also making investments in ventilation, boiler replacements and school supplies. Losing the funds will exacerbate financial problems for the district, which was already anticipating a $4 million reduction in next year’s budget. “We’re trying our best not to impact services to students, but likely it’ll impact our ability to provide some of the social-emotional supports which are really critical in our district,” Funk said. Other districts that will be hardest-hit by the $6 million funding freeze include Bridgeport, which stands to lose over $763,000. State Sen. Herron Keyon Gaston, D-Bridgeport, called the federal funding hold “draconian,” and also said it undermines “the future of our nation, our state, and our local school districts by diminishing access to quality learning opportunities for our students.” “These reckless reductions prioritize short-term financial savings over long-term investments in the intellectual growth and development of young people,” Gaston said in a statement Tuesday. Colchester and Achievement First Hartford Academy also both face more than $381,000 in lost funding. “We are disappointed by the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to reverse their previously approved extension for the use of … ESSER funds,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday, using the acronym for the federal COVID-aid program, known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief. “These resources were designated to support the continued academic and mental health recovery of our students,” Lamont said. “The Connecticut State Department of Education is actively engaging with federal partners and following all available procedures to seek project-specific extensions. We remain committed to doing everything we can to ensure that our districts and students receive the support they were promised.” The threat of pulling back COVID-19 funds comes after a recent executive order that would dismantle the federal Department of Education and widespread reductions to its workforce. Despite promises from McMahon that the moves would “not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them,” Connecticut lawmakers have remained concerned the department’s downsizing could impact some of the highest-need students, including those in districts like New London and Waterbury. District officials also are wary of additional cuts. “Who knows what’s going to happen? Because it doesn’t seem like the rules are necessarily getting followed,” New London’s Funk said. “At this point, we’re planning on receiving the federal funding that we’ve received in the past, … [but] now we’re kind of wondering about that.” Waterbury’s Schwartz added, “The reality is if you break it down to exactly what we just experienced, we were told we’re getting the extension, and then we were told we’re not getting it. So, that doesn’t bode well for us in terms of the future. “I hope that’s not a pattern,” Schwartz went on. “We need steady budgets for us to be able to understand what’s coming in, so that we know what to deliver and what we can deliver for students.” States can appeal to the Trump administration for an exception to spend more funds “on an individual-specific project basis.” In other words, the federal government will decide which projects have merit. “Please know that Connecticut will rigorously advocate for … each and every project that was previously approved,” Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker told districts over the weekend. ...read more read less