With a federal government shutdown now in effect, State Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green has sent guidance to public schools on what to expect.
Green's message assures public school administrators that he expects most federal funding to continue to flow to schools, although federal support and new initiatives will be limited. The U.S. Department of Education plans to furlough 95% of its staff, not counting those who work in the Office of Federal Student Aid on college student loans.
Most of the federal funding schools receive annually has already been distributed, or would be Wednesday, Oct. 1. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon indicated in a memo to the Office of Management and Budget that schools should expect to receive those funds.
That's because funds from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which make up the bulk of federal funds school districts receive, are forward-funded by Congress and those funds have already been appropriated.
However, some grants sent directly to school districts that are not forward-funded may be affected.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's CFO Alexis Schauss told the state board of education Wednesday that could include the Impact Aid program. The program provides funds to help school districts that have less taxable property in their county that can contribute to local school funding, because some of that land is federally owned.
"It is quite substantial for some of our school districts that have a military base, Cumberland County, for instance," Schauss said. "Or they have an Indian reservation. or actually federal lands in general."
Last year, Cumberland County Schools received about $4.4 million from the Impact Aid program, more than any other school district in North Carolina. Some of the other school districts that received sizable awards have national forests or native land in their county.
"After consulting with our Chief Financial Officer, I can share that Cumberland County Schools has not experienced any immediate issues with Impact Aid funds at this time. However, we understand from state leaders that Impact Aid could be affected," said Cumberland County Schools Associate Superintendent Lindsay Whitley in an email to WUNC. "We are continuing to monitor the situation and remain in close communication with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to gather more information."
Schauss said that reimbursements schools receive for the federal school lunch program could be delayed if the shutdown continues long-term, but the Department of Public Instruction has enough funds on hand to cover this month's reimbursements.
Green also cautioned in his memo to school administrators that although he expects very few funding disruptions based on what has occurred in past government shutdowns, he's prepared for that to change based on the U.S. Department of Education's recent history of withholding school funds.
"As we experienced earlier this summer, the administration withheld certain formula funds that were previously appropriated by Congress, and Secretary McMahon’s memo does not explicitly state what is to happen with formula funding other than Title I and IDEA," Green said in his memo.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction confirmed that the Title I and IDEA funds were received on Wednesday.
