Many Utah after-school programs to end due to federal funding cuts

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SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Board of Education announced late Sunday afternoon that they received notification from federal officials that funds for afterschool programs will be released on Monday. Many of these programs were set to disappear on September 1, as previously reported. The Utah Afterschool Network is still waiting for the official grant award to confirm the amount. Their division is waiting to send out the press release until Monday to ensure the full amount of the 21st-Century Grant will be replenished. The released funds should fund programs through the entirety of the 25–26 school year. Moving forward, programs for the next fiscal year are very much at risk because they have not received congressional approval yet. KSL TV’s earlier story follows: Many Utah after-school programs that are designed to help high-poverty and low-performing schools will disappear come September 1. Federal funds for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers are among the $6 billion in education grants the Trump Administration is withholding, specifying it wants to ensure these programs align with the president's priorities. Deborah Ivie is the Extension Associate Professor at Utah State University. She oversees the coordination and allocation of the 21st Century Grants. "When midnight hits on the last day of August, we won't have a dime in our pockets to help these children," Ivie said. "It will happen overnight, and 800 children will be affected." While Ivie works with 800 children who benefit from 21st Century Grants, approximately 10,000 Utah children take part in after-school programs funded by this specific grant. More than 22,000 Utah children participate in after-school learning programs. Ivie focuses on Garfield County elementary schools and students in the cities of Magna and Kearns. The program director said she is heartbroken to see these children lose tutoring and food assistance, as they are some of the poorest students in Utah. Ivie assists children in Blanding and Montezuma Creek, areas in San Juan County that have the highest poverty in the state. Many children live on the reservation. "These children greatly benefit from targeted tutoring, where we give one-on-one help with academic skills that they are lacking. It's incredible to see their test scores improve, their confidence grow, and their future possibilities skyrocket. These are children in incredibly rural communities. And the programs will be gone in six weeks," Ivie said. Schools in Republican-led areas are particularly affected by the freeze in federal education grants. Ivie said this 21st Century Federal Grant also supported enrichment classes, where children in rural areas experienced music, theater, and the arts. “These are congressionally approved funds. They were approved back in March by Congress and by the president,” Afterschool Network Executive Director Ben Trentelman said. “Everyone was very surprised by this.” Approximately 40% of all public funding for the state’s afterschool and summer programs comes from 21st CCLC, according to the nonprofit Utah Afterschool Network. Coordinators said for every one child participating in after-school programs, there are eight children on a waiting list. "We run a Books and Breakfast program in Magna and Kearns," Ivie said. "It was created because parents who work multiple jobs were dropping their children off early at the school. In the winter, these children were outside freezing, because the doors were not yet unlocked. We opened the schools, fed them and created a literacy program." Books and Breakfast is on the chopping block. About 70 children participated last year. Approximately 120 children in Kearns and another 120 in Magna took part in Targeted Tutoring. That program shutters on September 1. In the Alpine School District, officials are optimistic. “We’re less than 30 days from game day," the Interim Alpine School District Superintendent Robert W. Smith said. School begins there on August 13. "We will draw from the reserve to ensure needs are met," Smith said. “Our game plan is set. Our principals are meeting here in about 10 days, and we are moving forward to serve our kids in the best way possible." Noting that the ASD is in a financially stable situation, Smith said he felt confident moving into a new school year. “Our staffing is complete now. We do have staff who are financed with federal funds; those adjustments and impacts will be felt down the road," Smith said. "Progress to dismantle the Department of Education will impact the state. Our State Board of Education will wrestle with those issues in the future."