More than $50 million in federal educational grant funding San Diego County school districts were expecting to receive on July 1 is in limbo, according to the San Diego County Office of Education.
It’s part of a much larger funding freeze impacting public schools across the United States.
Federal educational grant funds that were supposed to be distributed at the beginning of the fiscal year are pending further review by the U.S. Department of Education.
The freeze has forced district leaders at the San Diego Unified School District to reallocate funding intended for later in the school year to summer school programs to prevent disruptions.
“We're estimating that there's about $13 million that would come to San Diego Unified that is being withheld right now by the Trump administration,” said SDUSD Board Vice President Richard Barrera.
San Diego Unified is the second largest school district in the state.
“This is funding specifically for programs like afterschool — including summer activities — it's funding to support English learners, it's funding to support teacher training,” Barrera said.
The funds are also used for “student support and academic enrichment” and “services for students whose families migrate across our state to work in agriculture fields,” in other county school districts, said Samantha Womack, director of communications for the San Diego County Office of Education.
An estimated $811 million in grant funding is due to schools in California, according to an analysis by the Learning Policy Institute.
Nationwide, the organization said that number is $6.2 billion for K-12 schools.
“This is money that's already been budgeted for the ‘25-’26 year and so if we lose it we're going to have to make adjustments,” Barrera said.
KPBS reached out to 10 of the largest school districts across San Diego County and heard back from four, including San Diego Unified.
The Chula Vista Elementary School District said about $2.1 million is on hold.
They said that if the freeze continues the most significant disruptions will occur in the 2026–27 school year.
Poway Unified School District said about $1 million is in limbo.
San Marcos Unified School District said they “would be impacted minimally.”
The Department of Education referred KPBS to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
“This is an ongoing programmatic review of education funding,” an OMB spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Initial findings show that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda.”
They also said no decisions have been made about when the funding will be released or when the review will be completed.
“We have to make our own plans as a local district, but we’re also depending (on) and encouraging the state of California to take legal action along with other states,” Barrera said.
If Congress does not approve funding cuts within 45 days of the completed review, the law requires the administration to distribute the money as originally planned.
