Whatcom County schools face $2.1 million gap amid Trump education funding freeze
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- Trump administration freezes $6.8B in federal school funds for 2025-26 review
- Whatcom County districts may lose $2.1M, disrupting pre-approved budgets
- Education leaders warn cuts will hit low-income and special-needs students hard
More than $2.1 million in already approved federal funds for Whatcom County school districts is being withheld by the Trump administration while it undergoes further review “in accordance with the President’s priorities.”
Since July 1, the administration has withheld almost $6.8 billion in funds for schools across the country in a move that puts districts at financial risk for the 2025-26 school year after they have already made programming and employment commitments based on the assumption that they would receive this funding.
Washington state alone stands to lose $137 million — 15.6% of the state’s federal K-12 funding — if districts are denied access to these funds.
“Losses of this amount, with such short notice and after local budgets have already been drafted and adopted by local school boards, have the potential to put several more school districts in extreme financial distress,” Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal said in an announcement.
The funding, which was approved by Congress in March, was expected to be disbursed on July 1.
Without the funding, districts risk losing critical school services, including migrant education, professional learning for educators, before- and after-school programs, and other programs that support supplemental learning, according to Reykdal.
As of Friday, the Trump administration announced it was expecting to release the funding earmarked for before- and after-school programs.
Still, about $5.5 billion across the country remains withheld as education leaders and experts across the country continue to sound the alarm that withholding these funds will disproportionately harm students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and English learners.
“Funding for the upcoming school year was allocated by Congress in the continuing resolution they approved, and President Trump signed into law, in March 2025. It is a reckless decision by the Trump Administration to potentially rescind funding that was appropriated by Congress to local school districts and students,” Reykdal said.
In a statement to The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Greg Baker said the withholding of federal funds “makes no sense and will harm children throughout the country.”
“The current administration has previously stated that their goal is not to reduce funding to schools, but to eliminate bureaucracy and funnel funds directly to states and schools. We hope that is the eventual outcome to all this. Our students are our future, and we should be doubling down on investing in them, not pulling back,” Baker told The Herald.
OSPI released numbers showing how much federal funding each school district in Washington is at risk of losing.
The following is the approximately $2.1 million in funding that Whatcom County school districts stand to lose:
▪ Bellingham: $704,983, or $66 per student.
▪ Blaine: $133,762, or $70 per student.
▪ Ferndale: $481,124, or $106 per student.
▪ Lynden: $267,667, or $78 per student.
▪ Meridian: $142,486, or $79 per student.
▪ Mount Baker: $167,116, or $110 per student.
▪ Nooksack Valley: $223,347, or $114 per student.
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 10:02 AM.
