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Healey outlines school districts affected by Trump’s ‘illegal’ cut of $106 million in Mass. funding
Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Senate has launched RESPONSE 2025 to defend the state.
The Healey Administration is condemning the federal government’s “illegal” termination of $106 million in K-12 education grant funding for Massachusetts.
On Friday at 5:03 p.m., the U.S. Department of Education notified all states about its decision to end the federal Education Stablilization Fund liquidation period, which went into effect three minutes prior, at 5 p.m.
In a Tuesday release, Healey’s administration estimated that this decision terminates over $2 billion in contracts across 41 states.
The termination came after the Trump Administration said in February that the state had until March 2026 to spend the funds.
“At a time when students are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, we need to be doing everything we can to address learning loss and the youth mental health crisis,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “Instead, President Trump suddenly ripped away more than $100 million in funding that is supposed to go right to Massachusetts students and schools.”
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The funding supported multiple statewide efforts to address pandemic-related learning loss, focusing on literacy, math, and science.
Although recent test scores show that Massachusetts students continue to lead the nation, the release said that students still have not fully recovered from the learning lost during the pandemic.
The funding helped address those gaps by supporting mental health services, math tutoring, purchasing instructional material focusing on science, and enhanced screenings to identify at-risk students with poor reading outcomes.
In addition, the release said the funding supported building upgrades across 20 school districts to improve air quality through HVAC installations and build outdoor learning spaces for students.
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Some projects included enhanced security, including purchasing cameras, door alarms, and emergency response technology.
The projects are underway as the federal government committed to these funds, but supply chain issues and labor shortages have caused delays.
The funding also supported professional development for educators, such as the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Learning Acceleration Network and five Regional Licensure Centers that help emergency teacher license holders get provisional or initial licensure to stay employed in public schools.
“Trump’s decision to cut off money already promised to school districts will have drastic negative effects on Massachusetts communities,” said Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, in a statement. “This administration clearly does not care about damaging our education system or hurting our children, leaving local officials scrambling to pick up the pieces.”
Here is a list of impacted school districts:
Healey’s release listed the following school districts as those impacted in Massachusetts, along with the amount each stands to lose.
- Springfield ($47,357,654)
- New Bedford ($15,603,433)
- Fitchburg ($6,578,468)
- Everett ($4,897,300)
- Revere ($4,613,327)
- Boston ($3,468,659)
- Leominster ($1,868,215)
- Stoughton ($1,512,470)
- Worcester ($1,454,350)
- Chelsea ($1,448,715)
- Lawrence ($1,307,307)
- Dracut ($648,702)
- Holyoke ($395,863)
- West Springfield ($354,868)
- Lynn ($339,357)
- Fairhaven ($250,802)
- Greater Fall River Regional Vocational Technical ($115,465)
- Ludlow ($83,334)
- Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical ($21,461)
- Mashpee ($2,481)
Impacted non-public schools:
- Mater Dolorosa Catholic School in Holyoke ($118,894)
- Saint Stanislaus School in Chicopee ($172,692)
State Senate takes action
Also on Tuesday, the Massachusetts Senate launched RESPONSE 2025, a coordinated effort to protect residents and defend state values against the Trump Administration’s federal actions.
Under the direction of Senate President Spilka and the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy, RESPONSE 2025 says it will focus on four key goals:
- Assessing federal actions to determine their real-world impact on Massachusetts;
- Identifying policy solutions to mitigate harm;
- Prioritizing state responses based on need, feasibility, and effectiveness;
- Providing clarity to the public by cutting through misinformation and helping residents understand their rights and services.
“We are watching the systematic erosion of programs, supports, and institutions that are critical to the wellbeing of our residents, the health of our economy, and the effective operations of our state,” said Spilka in a statement. “I am worried about the reckless and cruel actions of the current administration and their potential negative impact on the things we value. That’s why the Senate will not sit idly by — we have heard the concerns of our residents, and we are prepared to act.”
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It isn’t the Senate’s first time defending the state. During the first Trump administration, the Senate worked to enact policies to protect residents and prepare for fallout from Supreme Court decisions by passing legislation to safeguard providers, residents, and visitors to the state who engage in reproductive and gender-affirming health care.
The Senate Committee on Steering and Policy will soon meet with the Senate committee chairs to outline the next steps and priorities.
“Each day brings more federal attacks on the wellbeing of our constituents,” said Senator Joanne Comerford, D-Northampton, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy. “The Senate is fighting back.”
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