Johnson County’s six public school districts are facing the prospect of collectively losing millions of dollars in federal funds after the Trump administration withheld some $6 billion in education grants nationwide.
The money has already been approved by Congress, and districts across the country were expecting to begin receiving the funding by July 1, as is typical, before the White House notified states of the pause on June 30.
Olathe and Shawnee Mission are the two most impacted districts in Johnson County, with both estimating they could lose about $1 million each in federal grant funds if the freeze — which White House officials have characterized as part of a “programmatic review” of funds — becomes permanent.
“Obviously, we are frustrated that money that has been allocated by Congress is potentially being withheld. This funding supports services to some of our neediest students and has been used for the purposes specified by Congress,” David Smith, a spokesperson for the Shawnee Mission School District, said in an emailed statement.
“Unfortunately, this action makes all of our jobs harder and unnecessarily damages schools in Shawnee Mission and across the state of Kansas,” he added.
On Monday, 24 states sued the Trump administration over the funding freeze, arguing that the move puts districts in a bind right before a new school year begins.
The withheld funds target a handful of federal education grant streams. The largest single source of money being withheld nationwide — roughly $2.2 billion — goes toward teacher professional development.
Other frozen funds go toward educating migrant children and English language learners, as well as paying for after school and summer school programs.
The Kansas Department of Education estimates some $50 million in funds for Kansas school districts is impacted by the White House’s decision. (Some districts are dealing with the prospects of even steeper cuts, with Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools saying about $4.9 million in funds has been paused.)
“Normally we would receive notice by July 1 that these funds are being awarded for the coming school year. Now, the funding for these programs remains uncertain as we wait for the U.S. Department of Education’s review of these programs,” said Randy Watson, Kansas state education commissioner.
Watson added that the funding freeze “may cause acute challenges for rural districts,” too.
“We don’t know when the review of these and other programs will be completed or if we will receive the already approved funding,” Watson said.
Here’s a district by district breakdown of how the funding freeze could impact Johnson County schools:
Blue Valley: $342,000 withheld
The district says it faces the prospect of losing $342,000 in federal grant funding with the freeze, which represents 0.1% of the district’s overall operating budget.
A summary of the funding impacts can be found on the district’s website here.
Most of the frozen funds, roughly $242,000, is set to go toward teacher retention and recruitment efforts, the district says.
Another $71,000 goes toward English language and migrant student supports and another $29,000 for student mental health services.
“Blue Valley remains committed to supporting all students and will manage the impact of these reductions through careful budgeting and thoughtful resource allocation. High-quality support for students will continue in spite of this freeze in funding,” the district said in a statement.
“We are closely monitoring the situation with the Kansas State Department of Education and will continue advocating for resources that serve our most vulnerable learners.”
Gardner Edgerton: $131,154 withheld
The Gardner Edgerton district says it will rely on its contingency funds to cover the upcoming 2025-26 school year’s shortfall from the federal government’s recent funding freeze.
“We are not planning any sort of reduction whatsoever in services or staffing,” Superintendent Brian Huff said at Monday’s school board meeting.
The district expects to lose $131,154 in federal funding for programs covering teacher recruitment and retention, class sizes, professional development, curriculum support for English language learner programs and co-responder mental health support.
In particular, the impacted funds pay for 60% of two certified staff members’ salaries.
“These are all things that we are still committed to making sure continue to happen,” Amy Droegemeier, the district’s executive director of business and finance, said at Monday’s meeting. “It is not to supplant the things, but it is to add to what you are doing, so it is not to take the place of something else, it is above and beyond.”
Huff said the freeze amounts to less than 1% of the more than $3.5 million in federal funds the district was expected to receive for the upcoming school year. (Federal funds, overall, make up 4.2% of Gardner Edgerton’s annual operating budget.)
Droegemeier said the school district was fortunate to have a contingency fund they can use to make up for the freeze, but if they didn’t have the contingency fund the district would find another funding source.
“They (KSDE) are hopeful this is a pause and not a reduction for this year,” Droegemeier said.
Olathe: more than $1M withheld
The district most impacted by the federal withholdings is Olathe, which estimates more than $1 million in expected federal grant funding this year has been paused.
Of that, nearly $570,000 “is already obligated toward staff salaries and benefits,” the district says.
A summary of the funding impacts can be found on the district’s website here.
“These cuts primarily affect programs that support our most at-risk populations, including low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities,” the district said in a statement on its website.
The largest chunk, more than $450,000, is being withheld “from training, recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers.”
Another roughly $368,000 is being withheld from language instruction for English language learners and immigrant students; some $130,000 impacts mental health services, and $80,000 impacts migrant student education.
“We are monitoring the situation closely, and if these federal funds remain withheld, our district will reallocate funding from other budget sources to reduce the impact of this budget reduction on our students and staff. This would cause strain in other areas by forcing the district to reallocate funds,” the district says.
Shawnee Mission: nearly $1M withheld
Shawnee Mission put out a breakdown of how the funding pause could impact the district on its official Instagram account, saying the withholdings could amount to nearly $1 million in money slated to pay for some district services.
On Tuesday, Superintendent Michael Schumacher sent a letter to all members of Kansas’s Congressional delegation, pleading with them to urge the Trump administration to release the funds.
“These are not funds that were designated for some future, potential expense. We have been planning and making commitments for the use of these funds for months, including almost $300,000 in contracts for staff salaries and benefits,” Schumacher wrote.
Schumacher said these “are commitments we can’t walk back.”
“Thus, our only option is to immediately begin planning to shift local funds from other uses, in order to cover these shortfalls,” he wrote.
Nearly half of the overall total, some $545,000, is meant to go toward supporting “recruitment, preparation, training and retention of effective teachers and principals.”
Another $255,000 is allocated for supporting English language learners and migrant students.
In addition, some $151,000 is slated for “programs and activities aimed at enhancing student success and well-being,” and another $40,500 is meant for supports for migrant students.
Spring Hill: roughly $175,000 withheld
As of Wednesday, Spring Hill was the only Johnson County school district that had not released a more specific breakdown of how the federal funding pause could impact its budget.
At Monday’s regular school board meeting, Superintendent Link Luttrell did briefly discuss the federal funding pause, noting the district was in line to lose approximately $175,000 if the freeze continued indefinitely.
That would represent less than 10% of the roughly $2.3 million in federal funds the district received in the 2024-25 school year. (Overall, federal funds make up about 2.4% of the district’s total revenues.)
“I have had some parents reach out and rightfully so, those funds do impact schools and groups depending on the students served,” Luttrell said at Monday’s board meeting. ““Every dollar matter but the overall impact on SHSD is very, very minimal compared to what some of the other districts are experiencing.”
USD 232 (De Soto): $125,715 withheld
District spokesperson Alvie Cater said in an emailed response to questions that USD 232 is less impacted than other Johnson County districts.
On its website, the district says slightly more than $125,000 in federal funds are impacted by the pause.
Of that, about $84,000 is meant to go to “training, recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers.”
Another $23,000 is being withheld from services for English language learner instruction and migrant student education and anther roughly $17,000 is being withheld from “various types of student supports.”
Lynne Hermansen contributed reporting on Gardner Edgerton for this story.
