$43M withheld from Kansas schools: What does that mean for Wichita?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal government froze $43M in Kansas school grants, citing concerns.
- Wichita Public Schools may lose $6.3M in money for salaries and support programs.
- Districts using reserves to maintain services await clarity on fund restoration.
An abrupt decision to hold back millions of dollars in federal funding for Kansas schools threatens to make it more difficult for some students to learn English and for districts to provide after-school activities.
The funding freeze, which will also affect programs designed to improve student achievement and help recruit and retain teachers, comes as part of the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on schools that it says are promoting “a radical left-wing agenda.”
The Department of Education has indefinitely delayed almost $43 million in grant funding for Kansas schools as part of a nearly $7 billion funding freeze for schools across the country. Wichita Public Schools had $6.3 million in funding frozen, while Derby Public Schools is reporting the withholding of $304,737.
“I think everyone is in a wait-and-see mode,” said Betty Arnold, a state school board member whose district includes much of Sedgwick County and southwest Butler County. “You don’t know if the president is going to change his mind … It just puts any and everybody in dire straits.”
Arnold said districts in Kansas’ urban cores will bear the brunt of programs losing funding, along with small rural districts that serve many students whose parents are migrant workers. But, she said, all students will be affected.
“I don’t stop to think in terms of, well, this only applies to migrant kids. I think these are all our kids,” Arnold said. “These are all the students, and you cannot deprive one without hurting the whole because we’re no stronger than our weakest link.”
Wichita Public Schools said in a statement that the district is poised to lose approximately $6.3 million in funding — 80% of which has already been committed to staff salaries. Much of the funding goes toward instructional coaching for teachers and programs that help migrant and non-English speaking students and families.
“The support WPS provides to students is important for their academic and personal growth. WPS knows the crucial role these funds play in the lives of students and remains committed to making every student Future Ready,” officials said in a statement on the district’s website.
The Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, said last week that an initial review found that some schools used grant money to support immigrants in the country illegally and promote LGBTQ+ inclusion.
In an email statement, Gov. Laura Kelly said she’s shocked by the decision not to release the nearly $43 million in K-12 funding.
“This cut harms Kansas schools and students, particularly in our rural areas,” Kelly said. “Kansas teachers should be focused on preparing for the upcoming school year instead of being forced to navigate this unwarranted cut to funding.”
Kelly continued: “Kansas State Legislative leadership should use their influence to protect STEM education, career counseling, and after-school programs.”
Trump administration officials say decisions about whether individual grants should be released or permanently withheld have not been made yet. Arnold said that’s left educational institutions “in survival-mode.”
“There’s no time to ponder, ‘What do you think might happen tomorrow?’ I don’t know. I’m busy trying to fix today,” Arnold said.
What programs would lose funding?
Federal funding for the frozen programs, which was approved by Congress in March, is normally disbursed to state departments of education, which then distribute money to local school districts.
The biggest grant payment for Kansas public schools currently on hold is a $15.8 million allocation for professional development training that districts provide teachers and administrators. Schools have used the money to recruit and retain educators during the state’s ongoing teacher shortage. Wichita Public Schools was set to receive nearly $4 million to support these instructional coaching and retention initiatives before the freeze.
Also on hold is a $8.3 million grant payment for a program that promotes academic achievement, digital literacy and technology usage.
So is a $7.8 million grant for before- and after-school programs, including academic enrichment and tutoring in high-poverty and low-performing schools. Over half a million dollars of Kansas’ disbursement was set to go to the Wichita school district.
Federal education officials also froze $6.2 million in Kansas funding for a program that helps support students of migrant parents whose seasonal agricultural jobs require them to relocate often.
Rounding out the withheld funds is $4.8 million for a program that helps teach students whose first language isn’t English.
Local impact of funding freeze
Derby and Wichita Public Schools quickly reacted in preparation for the worst, including the possibility that the federal funding may be permanently revoked.
Derby would lose approximately $304,737 in funding. Derby is building this year’s budget using contingency funds to cover currently frozen funding, Director of Communications Katie Carlson said.
“This is to sustain the support across the district for one year. If the funding is restored, it will be returned to cover the district’s contingency funds utilized,” Carlson said in an email to The Eagle. “If not, next year’s budget priority process would need to consider how to cover the $304,737 each year among other priorities/needs.”
Wichita Public Schools is making similar accommodations. For the upcoming academic year, the district will use reserve funds to pay for the full-time equivalency salaries associated with paused programs, Chief Financial Officer Addi Lowell said. The district will pause and decide how to cover non-salary expenses, like professional development opportunities for educators and some technology and student materials, once it receives more information.
She said Wichita is luckier than most, with reserves to continue critical services, but the freeze does interfere with the district’s ability to accomplish other goals as it works to address a new obstacle.
“Unforeseen legislative activity like this does force our district to pivot our focus and away from, you know, achieving our strategic plan goals like academic achievement, like safety and belonging for students, staff and families, to managing and addressing financial concerns. And so that’s what we’re faced with right now,” she said.
“$6.3 million is no small amount even to our budget,” Lowell said. “We would have to make some decisions about the services we’re able to offer in the future if that guidance came to be … $6.3 million is a more material amount than we normally have to adjust to in a normal fiscal year.”
In her 10 years with Wichita public schools, Lowell said, this is the first time they’ve not been able to access federal funding in the expected time frame. But, she said, proactive action by Wichita’s school board — like the adoption of an unrestricted reserve policy —has lessened the impact and enabled the district to effectively adapt.
“That has allowed the district some long term sustainability focus,” Lowell said.” ... The action our board has taken to add accountability and governance of our cash reserves is allowing us to stay resilient, even in the face of a $6.3 million pop on funding.”
The federal government is withholding $3,663,796 for recruiting and retaining educators from Wichita, along with more than $549,886 for after-school programs, including STEALTH, a program that provides STEM, fine arts, service learning and health and wellness-based enrichment to students.
The Wichita district had also been approved to receive $1,026,022 for English language learning services and $293,000 the district says it was set to spend on “educational access for students and families who move to the district for work in the agriculture industry.”
State data shows the Wichita school district is the largest in Kansas, educating 10% of all public school students in the state. Kansas State Department of Education records also show the number of Wichita students tested for English proficiency has increased 3% each year since 2021. In 2023, English learners made up 9.2% of students in Kansas.
“We serve every student at Wichita public schools, and these funds are used to supplement critical services that create access for these students and their families into our schools,” Lowell said. “… And so impacts to Wichita public schools are wide and great.”
In the Derby Public Schools system, 24% of students qualify for English language learning services.
Private and parochial schools also will be affected, Lowell said. As a Local Education Agency, Wichita Public Schools provides allocated federal funds to at-risk students who do not attend Wichita public schools. Out of the district’s $6.3 million in frozen funding, more than $800,000 was set to go to private and parochial schools within the public school boundary. Derby also allocates $12,660 in now-inaccessible funding to private schools in the area.
Until more answers come from the federal government, educators like Arnold said they’ll do as much as they can with what they have. Questions like, ‘How long can districts operate without access to these federal funds?’ and ‘What would permanent defunding mean?’ will have to wait.
“There’s a line from from a movie … ‘Gone With the Wind,’ came to mind,” Arnold said. “She (Scarlett O’Hara) said, ‘I’ll think about it tomorrow, because if I think about it today, I will surely go crazy.’”
The Star’s Sofi Zeman contributed reporting to this story.
This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 5:08 PM with the headline "$43M withheld from Kansas schools: What does that mean for Wichita?."
