KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Several Kansas City-area school districts say they are suddenly facing financial uncertainties after the U.S. Department of Education announced a freeze in funding.
The freeze comes as districts are just weeks away from the start of the new school year.
On Wednesday, the Kansas City, Kansas, Public School District communicated to parents and community members that the federal funding freeze impacts $4.9 million worth of funding district leaders had already allocated to spend in the upcoming school year.
“This funding pause affects programs that directly support some of our most vulnerable students — including those from low-income families, English language learners and students with disabilities,” the district said in its communication.
The biggest impact in KCKPS would be $2 million that had been allocated for after-school programs like KidZone. The district says $1.1 million allocated for teacher training, recruitment and retention is also part of the freeze.
“Much of this funding is already committed to staff salaries and benefits, which makes this freeze especially challenging,” the district said.
On Tuesday night, the Kansas Department of Education said it had received a letter from the USDE that roughly $50 million in funding was under federal review.
RELATED | Kansas education officials lament delay of $50M in payments from US Department of Education
On Tuesday, the Olathe School District sounded its alarm, saying that roughly $1 million worth of funding leaders had already allocated was caught in the freeze.
📢 Students in every school district, in every state, rely on federal funding for public schools. Last week, school districts across the nation were notified of a freeze on federal education grant funding that could directly impact our schools, students and staff. The U.S.… pic.twitter.com/G4txZoV1jC
— Olathe Public Schools (@olatheschools) July 8, 2025
“Olathe Public Schools remains committed to advocating for the resources our students and staff need to succeed,” the district said. “We are monitoring the situation closely, and if these federal funds remain withheld, our district will reallocate funding from other budget sources to reduce the impact of this budget reduction on our students and staff.”
This is a developing story and may be updated.
