The North Carolina State Board of Education and Superintendent Mo Green are urging the federal government to reverse a decision that halts $17 million in funding for school facility upgrades in North Carolina.
The board voted Thursday to send a joint statement with Green requesting the U.S. Department of Education to honor extensions for spending pandemic stimulus funds granted last year by the Biden administration.
“These districts will now face potential cancellation of projects or, worse, will not have the resources to pay the bills for work already done,” the board and Green stated in their appeal to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
According to WRAL, more than $6 billion in pandemic stimulus dollars earmarked for North Carolina public schools since 2020 has been spent or committed before a September 2024 deadline.
However, extensions were granted under the Biden administration to allow schools to spend the funds before March 2026, particularly for facility expenses due to shortages in materials and labor.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced last week that she would not honor these extensions, arguing that schools had “ample time” to spend the money and that the extensions were “not justified.” She suggested that schools could re-apply for extensions, which would be reviewed individually.
Four North Carolina school districts—Robeson, Halifax, Lenoir, and Richmond—had received extensions. Robeson County Schools were expecting $14.6 million, primarily for heating and air conditioning equipment. Richmond County Schools lost $1.3 million, Halifax lost about $886,000, and Lenoir lost approximately $252,000.
Robeson Assistant Superintendent Bobby Locklear expressed concern over the funding loss, stating that the district had already committed the money in contracts for HVAC, window, and classroom projects. The district has managed to cover one payment with $1.6 million from district funds but lacks the savings to cover the remaining $13 million.
Officials from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction noted that the projects across all counties were mainly for facilities, including window replacements, which require students and staff to be out of the building for extended periods, limiting work to holiday breaks and summers.
Robeson district’s projects, including a new HVAC system at Lumberton High School, new classrooms at two high schools, and window replacements at three elementary schools, have faced delays due to supply chain issues and were scheduled for completion by summer.
Locklear highlighted the challenges of obtaining HVAC equipment, with one piece taking 58 weeks to arrive after ordering, and emphasized that many projects cannot be completed while students are present.
The district is preparing documentation for the Department of Public Instruction to justify the projects, outline what remains to be done, and provide timelines for completion.
Superintendent Green has taken a “measured” approach to federal changes, aiming to minimize disruption to services for the state’s 1.5 million students, particularly those served by federal programs.
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