The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) says the U.S. Department of Education has denied its request to extend COVID-19 relief funding for projects at school districts across the Commonwealth, including at Boone County Schools and Covington Independent Public Schools.
The U.S. Department of Education notified state education organizations in late March that it was cutting short a deadline previously extended under the Biden administration to spend COVID-19 relief funds. The federal government's new deadline was the same day the letter was sent out. KDE says the sudden cut-off of funds will leave state and local districts without proper reimbursement to cover costs for improvement projects that may have already begun.
The federal government said it would consider funding extensions for certain projects on a case-by-case basis. KDE says it submitted several projects to be considered, but most were denied.
Two smaller projects at Boone County Schools were granted extensions: a nearly $26,000 project for an interactive online learning platform and another for almost $19,000 to fund one year of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
“While I am pleased that USED will allow for Boone County to continue spending money on these two projects that were previously approved by the Department last year, it is unfortunate that Kentucky has been denied more than $10 million so far to provide resources and improve the learning environment of our students,” Kentucky Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher said in a statement. “We expect the federal government to honor its promises to states and to our students."
Another project at Boone County Schools, totaling nearly $168,000 to fund an online student assessment service, was denied.
At Covington Independent Schools, a funding extension to upgrade the main electrical and ventilation system at Holmes High School and Holmes Middle School was denied. The school district says the improved system is intended to reduce the spread of airborne illnesses and extend summer educational programs in its buildings.
Fletcher says KDE plans to appeal the U.S. Department of Education's ruling in an attempt to recover the rest of the rescinded funding.
"We will continue to fight for the resources our schools and districts have been promised by USED to continue their mission of providing the best education possible to Kentucky’s students," he said.
WVXU reached out to both Boone County and Covington Independent school districts for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of this article's publication.
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