SPECIAL REPORT: Local School Districts on Edge as Decision about Federal Funds for Education Looms
Federal decisions about education dollars are due in July. Government downsizing, however, means local districts are entering the summer with an unprecedented lack of clarity about fall funding.
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By Martin Davis and Adele Uphaus
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Area schools are watching closely as the clock ticks toward July 1, when federal funding for about three-fourths of key educational dollars are typically released. The balance is usually dispensed to the states on October 1, which is the start of the new federal fiscal year.
In years past, districts were able to budget with a high degree of certainty about the dollars they would receive. However, the Trump Administration has moved swiftly since Inauguration Day to defund many federal programs, and has particularly come hard for the Department of Education.
Spotsylvania County Public Schools has already suffered the effects of these actions when it lost, without forewarning, grants for two programs — one to assist special education students; one for individuals who are studying to secure certification as special education teachers focusing on autism, a high-needs area.
Now, all area schools face the possibility that funding for programs like Head Start and school nutrition could be eliminated or pared sharply back, while Title I funding, which supports schools serving low-income families, is facing a precarious future.
To understand the extent to which local districts are dependent upon federal funds, and how they might be affected should deep cuts become reality, the Advance has spoken with school districts in Caroline, Fredericksburg, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford.
Uncertainty is the common thread that area superintendents share. Matt Eberhardt, deputy superintendent of Fredericksburg City Public Schools, summed that concern up succinctly in a phone discussion with the Advance. Describing how the school system listed all federal funds on a spreadsheet and color-coded them based on the district’s level of confidence that those funds will be there—with “green” meaning either no concern, or very little, that the funds would disappear—Eberhardt told the Advance, “There’s no green.”
For those unfamiliar with the nomenclature used to describe education funding, the Advance has provided a primer on terms like Title I, Title II, and IDEA, among others, and which agencies are responsible for distributing those funds. That primer appears at the end of this report.
Caroline County Public Schools
Caroline County Public Schools receives a total of $2.6 million in federal grants, representing 3.5% of the district’s $73 million overall budget, according to Superintendent Sarah Calveric. In addition, the district receives $1.1 million in Head Start funding.
The federal funding Caroline schools receives is distributed through a variety of federal programs:
ESEA Title IV- Student Support and Academic Achievement
ESEA Title III Part A- Limited English Proficient
ESEA Title II Part A- Supporting Effective Instruction
ESEA Title I Part A- Improving Basic Programs
Perkins V- Title I
IDEA Part B Section 619 Special Education Preschool
IDEA Part B Section 611- Special Education
ESEA Title I Part A- School Improvement 1003 A
The loss of federal funds would be felt by the district’s most vulnerable populations.
“If federal funding were to be eliminated,” Calveric told the Advance, “the most affected programs would include preschool, special education, services for English learners (LEP), and Title I schools.”
For now, Calveric is, like other school leaders, following developments and preparing to adjust if necessary. “We are actively monitoring the federal funding landscape,” she said, “and prepared to reassess programs and student needs in the event of any reductions in federal support for public education.”
Fredericksburg City Public Schools
The Fredericksburg City Public School system’s standard federal grants — Head Start, Title grants, Perkins, and IDEA 611 and 619 — account for about 10% of the district’s budget, according to city schools’ CEO Jennifer Brody.
Of these federal funds, the school system is most closely watching Head Start, school nutrition, and Medicaid.
When President Trump first rolled out his proposed budget, Head Start was one the administration targeted to zero-out. While this proposal is being challenged in court, should Head Start funding end, it could prove devastating for the district.
Fredericksburg schools’ “Head Start regional grant is approximately $1.5M,” says Brody. “That amount helps to support both the Fredericksburg City Public Schools and King George classrooms.”
“No Head Start funds would effectively mean that we could not support those classrooms unless we were able to find other funding,” Brody said.
King George County Public Schools
In King George County, the largest amount of federal funding is for special education under section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.
Section 611 authorizes funding for special education services for students aged 3 to 21. King George receives about $1 million in federal pass-through funding under this section, and another $22,000 for special education for preschool students, which is authorized under section 619 of the act.
The division receives between $350,000 and $560,000 in Medicaid funding.
The amount of funding for the division’s school nutrition funding was not yet available at the time of publication, according to spokeswoman Amanda Higgins.
Spotsylvania County Public Schools
In total, Spotsylvania County Public Schools receives $18 million in federal grants, according to district CFO Phil Trayer, and another $10.7 million for food service. Taken together, this $28.7 million represents about 6% of the district’s budget.
Roughly a quarter of these grants are Title I funds that are used to support low-income students in helping them meet state standards.
The district also receives nearly $6 million in Title VI funds which support special education students (SPED). The county has seen the percentage of SPED students rise sharply in recent years. Today, roughly 17% of students — slightly more than 4,000 students — are identified as SPED. In 2021, that number stood at just over 3,500.
Another student population that has grown substantially in recent years has been English Language Learners. In 2021, just over 2,100 students were so identified. In 2025, that number had grown to 3,500. Title III funds support these efforts, and the district expects to receive about $449,000 to aid these students’ educations.
The district also receives about $1.1 million for Head Start. The program’s total budget is $1.17 million, meaning that were the government to end funding for Head Start, the locality or state would have to make up almost the entire cost to run the program.
Asked if programs like Head Start with a high level of federal funding would go away should federal funds dry up, Rene Daniels, the district’s director of communications and community engagement, said “Not necessarily. We will look to other funding sources first.”
Stafford County Public Schools
Sandra Osborn, chief communication officer for Stafford County Public Schools, said it’s “hard to speculate” about the risk of federal funding loss. “Information is changing frequently,” she told the Advance. “We will of course know more when the state budget is finally released.”
Stafford has budgeted $14 million in federal funds for the School Nutrition program and $3.2 million for Head Start, which provides preschool education and family support to 239 students in the county. There’s another $16 million budgeted for Title I, II, III, IV, and VI.
The school division’s total operating budget for fiscal year 2026 is $488.2 million. Most of the federal funding goes into the division’s grants fund rather than the operating fund.
The largest chunk of federal funding that passes to Stafford through the state is for special education. Stafford is budgeted to receive about $6.3 million from this funding stream.
This funding supports early-childhood and family programs, academic enrichment programs, curriculum development, professional development, family literacy services, science and mathematics enrichment programs, remedial programs, culturally related activities, beginning literacy skills in grades K-3, and “the needs of at-risk children and youth,” according to a description on the school division’s website.
The funding is authorized under Title VI-B of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race-based discrimination in federally funded programs. The U.S. Department of Education in April announced that it is requiring state and local education agencies to “certify their compliance with their antidiscrimination obligations” in order to continue receiving federal funds under Title VI.
“Specifically, the Department requests certification of compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the responsibilities outlined in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard,” a press release from the U.S. DOE states, referencing the 2023 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
Osborn confirmed that the division did sign and return the certification of compliance. According to the Virginia Mercury, all school divisions signed the certification except for Loudoun and Fairfax.
In Stafford, according to the school division’s approved budget for next fiscal year, the entirety of Title VI funding goes to employee salaries and benefits.
After Title VI, the next largest chunk of federal funding that comes via the state is under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families.
Stafford is budgeted to receive about $3 million from this funding stream for fiscal year 2026, with about $2 million going to staff salaries and benefits and the remainder going to “purchased services,” materials, and supplies.
All grant funds combined employ a total of 173 positions, including 109 teachers and 43 paraprofessionals.
Federal Education Funding Terms
Federal dollars to K-12 public schools cover a range of populations. Many of these funds are appropriated under categories established in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was first signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. It was last reauthorized by President Obama in 2015. For more on the history of ESEA, see the following timeline from the Hunt Institute.
ESEA Programs Referenced in This Report:
Title I - Programs for disadvantaged students, student assessment, migratory students, and neglected and delinquent students.
Title II - Programs for teachers, principals, and school leaders; literacy; and American history and civics education.
Title III - Programs to support English language acquisition for English learners.
Title IV - Programs to support a well-rounded education, safe and healthy students, and technology; after-school instruction and care; charter schools; magnet schools; family engagement in education; and various national activities.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
In addition to ESEA programs, schools also receive funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
IDEA Section 611 and Section 619 - Under IDEA Section 611, every eligible state and outlying area receives an annual grant to support special education and related services for children ages 3–21. Additionally, all states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, receive IDEA Section 619 grants to support special education and related services for children ages 3–5.
Head Start
Head Start is fully funded through the Department of Health and Human Services and provides services that are available at no cost to children ages birth to 5 in eligible families. Visit the Head Start site to learn more.
School Nutrition
Funds for school lunches and breakfasts is supplied through the United States Department of Agriculture. Visit USDA for more information.
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