Michigan school districts and the state of Michigan could lose up to about $42 million in federal funding for projects that aim to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, according to the Michigan Department of Education.
Linda McMahon, the newly appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, sent a letter to state education agencies, including the Michigan Department of Education. The letter, sent Friday evening, said the deadline for federal reimbursement requests related to the pandemic had been moved up by one year from March 28, 2026, to earlier that evening at 5 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Education previously granted an extension to schools utilizing the funds for approved projects, but McMahon said the department has reconsidered the extension.
After reconsideration, the department found that the extension was “not justified.”
“Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion,” McMahon wrote in the letter.
Michigan schools still have a chance to receive federal dollars for their ongoing projects. McMahon said in the letter that the U.S. Department of Education will consider extensions to individual projects moving forward. She wrote that schools interested in an extension must email the department with a statement on why a project extension is necessary to mitigate the effects of COVID on students’ education and why the department should grant the request.
The letter puts funds from Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations and the American Rescue Plan at risk for Michigan schools. Both plans utilize the Education Stabilization Fund to provide relief to schools addressing the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Projects include improving heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, boilers, and windows.
In Michigan, 27 school districts have entered into contracts for pre-approved projects, but will now no longer be eligible to request reimbursement, according to the Michigan Department of Education.
The department said that 12 districts were expecting to receive approximately $40 million in reimbursements under the American Rescue Plan. An additional 15 districts were expecting to see about $1.9 million in reimbursements from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations.
The Michigan Department of Education said in a Tuesday statement that it has paid approximately $24.2 million to the school districts for pending projects, out of the $42 million now in limbo. However, the state agency said all of the funding is still in jeopardy if the federal government does not fulfill pre-approved funding requests.
Potential school district impact ranges from losing a few thousand to millions of dollars due to project costs. Flint City School District stands to lose the most funding in the state. The district expected $15.6 million under the American Rescue Plan, according to the Michigan Department of Education. Of that $15.6 million, the Michigan Department of Education has paid $14.2 million to the district.
State Superintendent Michael Rice wrote in a press release that he believes a change in federal administration should have no impact on previous funding commitments. Rice also stated potential school district impacts.
“Without the promised March 2026 date for federal reimbursement requests, districts may be forced to reduce instructional expenditures for students, diminish savings, or both to honor these contracts,” Rice wrote.
The letter met with criticism from Pamela Pugh, Michigan’s Board of Education president.
“As a public health professional for many years, it is a particular affront to me that the U.S. Department of Education would walk back its commitment to projects that protect the health and safety of our students—including for schools in communities such as Flint, Pontiac, and Benton Harbor that were hit especially hard by COVID-19,” Pugh wrote in a statement.
The reverse in policy comes amid large-scale cuts to the U.S. Department of Education under the Trump administration.
