This story originally appeared in the Spokesman-Review.
Sighs of relief, hesitant celebrations, even tears emanated from after-school providers and advocacy groups around the nation when they got word that the Trump administration lifted a three-week pause on $1.3 billion in federal grants that paid for summertime, before- and after-school programs.
“I was so excited I almost cried, just because of the state of our staff. They were freaking out, like ‘Am I going to have a job?’” said Debra Raub, executive director of Communities in Schools of Northeast Washington, a recipient of millions in grant funding for programs at six schools in Spokane County.
The nonprofit will continue to host after-school programs at Bemiss, Cooper, Regal and Stevens elementaries in Spokane Public Schools, as well as Seth Woodard and Orchard Center elementaries in the West Valley School District. Each school has around 30 students enrolled in the grant-funded programs.
“That’s hundreds of kids that would lose before-school, after-school and summer programming, which also affects parents’ ability to provide child care during that time period,” Raub said.
In June, the Department of Education froze previously approved funding for six different educational grants totaling around $6 billion, including $1.3 billion nationally in 21st Century Community Learning Centers that the department restored on Friday after three weeks in limbo.
Washington received $21.3 million from the grant, doled out to providers and school districts to operate the services at 105 sites in the state, according to a spokesperson from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Raub’s nonprofit was expecting around $9 million to operate the programs at six schools for three more years in Spokane County.
The Trump administration froze the funding to ensure it was in line with the president’s priorities.
The administration has yet to make a decision whether it will follow suit and release the $5.5 billion that pays for staff training, English-language education, migrant education and literacy programs for adults in five other paused grants, according to a notice sent to grantees from the Department of Education.
Friday’s release of some of the grant money doesn’t extend beyond the upcoming school year, despite Congress OKing the grants until 2028 without interruption.
President Donald Trump’s proposed 2026 budget doesn’t allocate any dollars to after-school programs specifically, instead consolidating the existing 21st Century Community Learning Center grants with 17 other K-12 grants and reducing their combined allocations by 69%, according to D.C.-based advocacy group Afterschool Alliance.
The group’s executive director, Jodi Grant, said the cuts would be premature for grantees expecting funding.
“It breaks my heart to see anybody going through this, any program where you’re impacting kids and families in schools,” Grant said.
The Spokesman-Review originally published this story on July 21, 2025. Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. It is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
