Congresswoman Lee & After-School All-Stars Warn of Consequences from Administration’s Pause of Federal Funding for Nevada Schools
Above: (L to R) Executive Director Jodi Manzella and Congresswoman Susie Lee
Click HERE for video of the press conference
LAS VEGAS – Today, at After-School All-Stars, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) joined After-School All-Stars Las Vegas (ASASLV) Executive Director Jodi Manzella to sound the alarm on the Administration pausing over $60M in federal funding for Nevada schools. Attendees shared how the withheld grants will have a personal impact on students and families who rely upon ASASLV and similar programs to keep children safe after school.
On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed President Trump to put his plan to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE) back on track and lay off nearly 1,400 employees. Even though only Congress can shutter the DOE, shutting it down and transferring duties to the state will effectively be a tax increase for Nevada families. Federal “savings” from cutting the department will go toward wealthy tax cuts and Nevada taxpayers will be caught holding the bag to pay for lost services.
Federal Funding for Nevada Education:
- Nevada received $97.2 million in federal investments for special education last year, affecting nearly 70,000 Nevada students, including over 40,000 in Clark County.
- Nevada K-12 schools receive roughly $993 million annually from the DOE. 17% of CCSD’s budget is federally sourced.
- Nevada has some of the largest class sizes in the country. Dismantling the DOE will make them even larger because educators will be laid off.
- Over half of Clark County’s 385 schools receive federal Title I funding and Nevada received nearly $161 million in Title I funding for low-income schools for the 2024-25 school year.
- $146.4 million in federal Pell Grants were awarded to NSHE students in 2023-2024.
- 31,963 NSHE students received Pell Grants in 2023-2024.
- NSHE institutions received more than $386 million for federal student aid.
More Nevada education data can be found HERE.
“Dismantling the Department of Education and pausing over $60 million in federal funding for our Nevada schools are clear moves to take money away from our students and working families so Trump can give tax cuts to billionaires,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “The withheld grants fund after-school programs for 12,000 Nevada children and professional development for our already under-supported teachers. Nevada is set up for rocky times ahead because of this Administration, and this is only just beginning. Not only does this hurt students but it hurts families who rely on these programs.”
“Due to this federal freeze, we have 13 schools that are in jeopardy right now that we have had to unfortunately notify this week that we cannot start programing in the month of August when school starts. That's over 1,600 students every single day that are not going to have the safe space of their own school, where After-School All-Stars starts every day with them,” said After-School All-Stars Executive Director Jodi Manzella. “They're losing out every single day that we don't have the funding released to the state of Nevada. So, until the Nevada Department of Education notifies us and lets us know that the money has been put back with the state for 21st century, which equates to 1.5 million for After-School All-Stars, we cannot proceed with the program in those 13 schools, so we're going to keep fighting.”
Before coming to Congress, Lee spent two decades leading education non-profits – reducing dropout rates and making sure our kids had the wrap-around services they needed to thrive.
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