Tacoma youth programs stand to lose millions as Trump withholds ed dollars
Local agencies in and around Tacoma could lose millions as the Trump administration withholds up to $7 billion in federal dollars for certain school programs, including teacher training initiatives, migrant education and after-school programs.
Tacoma Public Schools and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the South Puget Sound could lose about $2 million and $1.5 million respectively, spokespeople told The News Tribune following the announcement. POLITICO reported that the Department of Education on Monday failed to distribute the education grant funding, and the Trump administration has told state officials that it is reviewing the funding and will not distribute funds until completing the review.
“Initial findings have shown that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical leftwing agenda,” a spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget told POLITICO.
The grants at risk for Tacoma Public Schools include a grant that seeks to improve the “quality and effectiveness of teachers,” a second that is designed to help students for whom English is a second language and a third that bolsters access to a well-rounded education and the use of technology to advance academic achievement. If the grants were blocked or canceled, the district would lose $2.1 million for the 2025-2026 academic year, according to a statement from the district.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the South Puget Sound is in the second year of a five-year federal grant of $2.5 million for a 21st Century Community Learning Center, which provides academic enrichment for kids after school and over the summer. The announcement of the withheld federal funding means that the Boys & Girls Clubs of the South Puget Sound could face a $250,000 gap in the short term, as well as $1.5 million over the remaining three years of the grant.
“While we are not facing immediate closures, the cumulative financial impact of this federal freeze, including ripple effects on school district partnerships and other aligned funding, threatens our ability to sustain services at current levels,” spokesperson Natalie Ries told The News Tribune in a statement.
The news of the potential loss of funding comes as another blow to Tacoma Public Schools, which has in recent weeks made a slew of cuts to staff positions as it works to address a $30 million budget deficit in a general fund budget over $570 million. This is the district’s third year in a row facing a deficit, and district officials have said it is dangerously close to having expenses exceed its revenues as it has depleted its reserves. The district is gearing up to approve its budget for the next academic year on July 10.
More than 9% of Tacoma Public Schools budget in the 2023-2024 academic year came from the federal government. About 7% of Washington state’s budget for education comes from the federal government, The Olympian previously reported.
Chris Reykdal, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, said in a statement that the announcement on Tuesday “is only one example of how our republic is being burnt to the ground by this administration.”
“The rule of law is on its final breath, and it has become clear that Congress is incapable of defending itself from the Executive Branch that is intent on destroying the separation of powers and the checks and balances inherent in having a Congress,” Reykdal’s statement reads. “It is mind boggling and disastrous to watch members of Congress, in the majority and in the minority, put up no legal fight as they get trampled by this negligent and careless administration.”
