ISLAND COUNTY: Federal grant freeze effort causes chaos, concern
Luisa Loi reports from Island County for the Whidbey News-Times.
While a White House memo that froze federal grants was rescinded after two days of widespread panic and confusion on Wednesday, it highlighted how Whidbey jurisdictions, nonprofits and schools heavily rely on federal support to provide vital services to the communities they serve.
On Monday, a memo from the Office of Management and Budget directed a blanket federal funding freeze that was meant to allow time to carefully review each spending area in the government’s budget to ensure compliance with President Donald Trump’s freshly signed executive orders aimed at reducing spending, but was blocked by a federal judge the following day until Feb. 3 to give organizations some time to challenge the decision.
The memo was rescinded the following day, though billions of dollars in funding targeted by the recent executive orders remain blocked. With more orders expected to come, there is concern that some projects and programs could be at risk.
They Said It
In schools, federal grants support services such as special education, Title I academic support programs, technology infrastructure and nutrition services, according to Coupeville Superintendent Shannon Leatherwood, who said that despite the fact the district has been vigilant and has maintained a contingency plan, the freeze came as a surprise.
The South Whidbey School District receives over $1 million from the federal government every year. With a fund balance of almost $5 million, Board Director Brook Willeford said the district expects to be able to serve its students for some time if the federal government decides not to support important programs and the state is unable to fill the gap.
“The majority of federal funding for schools supports students in special education, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities,” he wrote in an email. “Removing funding from these students is unconscionable, as they are some of our students who need the most assistance in getting the education they are guaranteed in our nation,” he wrote.
In Oak Harbor, the city is waiting for $5.8 million in federal funds for a series of infrastructure improvement projects, Communications Officer Magi Aguilar wrote in an email. When the freeze was announced, the city considered the possibility of having to pause, scale back or cancel projects that residents have been waiting for.
Citizens Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse had already been preparing for a dramatic budget reduction for about a year, which could cut the approximately $900,000 budget by $300,000, according to Executive Director Andrea Downs. The Victims of Crime Act, which has been providing federal funding to programs like CADA for decades, is seeing a dramatic drop in funding.
If all federal funding is cut, the county’s only domestic violence and sexual assault agency would have to close its doors, leaving vulnerable people in high-risk situations.
While community members can contribute by volunteering and making monetary donations, it wouldn’t be enough to fill the gap, she said. However, the nonprofit is looking into some grant opportunities with private philanthropies to stay afloat.
[Ed. Note: Andrea Downs is also a director at the South Whidbey School District.]
