CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) Both the Charlottesville and Albemarle school divisions issued releases last week indicating that they were going to lose $417,000 and $660,000 dollars respectively due to proposed federal funding cuts by the current administration.  Both divisions shared that Title programs such as Head Start and others that support underserved communities would be impacted in the long term but that they had temporary contingency plans in place.

WINA education expert Lee Elberson of Clayborne Test Prep and Tutoring provided analysis the impact of the cuts which you can listen to below:

However, the Associated Press Reports that the Trump Administration has reversed its position on freezing the funds due to pressure from Republican Senators and Governors, who told the administration that the funding freezes would not accomplish the objective to eliminate unnecessary programs.   See the AP story below:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in withheld grants for schools, the Education Department said Friday, ending weeks of uncertainty for educators around the country who rely on the money for English language instruction, adult literacy, and other programs.

President Donald Trump’s administration had suspended more than $6 billion in funding on July 1, as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.

The funding freeze had been challenged by several lawsuits as educators, Congress members from both parties and others called for the administration to release the money. Congress had appropriated the money in a bill signed this year by Trump.

Last week, the Education Department said it would release $1.3 billion of the money for after-school and summer programming. Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club of America had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall.

The Office of Management and Budget had completed its review of the programs and will begin sending the money to states next week, the Education Department said.

Republican senators pressed the Trump administration to release the money

A group of 10 Republican senators on July 16 sent a letter imploring the administration to allow the frozen education money to be sent to states, saying the withheld money supported programs and services that are critical to local communities.

“The programs are ones that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support,” U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said Friday. She pointed to after-school and summer programs that allow parents to work while their children learn and classes that help adults gain new skills — contributing to local economies.

In withholding the funds, the Office of Management and Budget had said some of the programs supported a “ radical leftwing agenda. ”

School superintendents had warned they would have to eliminate academic services without the money. On Friday, AASA, an association of superintendents, thanked members of Congress for pressing to release the money.

Other media reports also indicated that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin also advocated for the release of the funding.

Follow both Cvillerightnow.com and Newsradio WINA for more on this story as it develops.