Maryland educators are reeling at the loss of more than $400 million in funds suddenly rescinded by the federal government, a “catastrophic” move that would hit especially hard in public schools in Baltimore city and county and other large school districts.

“‘Shocked’ does not begin to describe our reaction when we received the notification late Friday evening,” State School Superintendent Carey M. Wright said Monday. “This jeopardizes over $400 million in funding.”

The funds had been given to the state for pandemic relief. State schools officials said the funds were used to help mitigate educational losses as a result of the pandemic, when students took classes remotely from home. The funds were used, for example, for reading assistance, tutoring, wellness programs and summer learning. The funds were also used for construction projects, such as repairing and replacing HVAC systems to make schools safer and cleaner.

“This sudden action causes significant uncertainty for Maryland,” said Joshua Michael, the president of the State Board of Education. “This action threatens tutoring, summer programing and health and safety projects for students and families across Maryland.

The rescinded funds are part of the $3.2 billion allocated to Maryland for pandemic relief. Of the funds pulled, $305 million were already spent and the rest were committed to being spent, all with the expectation that they would be reimbursed, officials said.

But on Friday, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to “State Chiefs of Education” saying they “have had ample time to liquidate obligations” for the grants and that the department was ending the period for doing so immediately.

“Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion,” McMahon wrote.

State education officials said they are still trying to determine the extent of the damage and what to do next. The state has reached out to the Maryland Attorney General, which has the option to sue the federal government to try to pause the decision, or even reverse it.

“We are exploring all legal options at this time given the severity of this action,” Wright said.

“Our office is aware of the Trump administration’s decision to rescind its promise to repay millions in funds for Maryland students and schools,” said Office of the Attorney General’s Spokesperson Jennifer Donelan in an email. “We are reviewing the matter and weighing our options. Protecting the State’s schools and Maryland students is a top priority.”

Spokespersons for several local school districts said they were trying to determine how to address the funding loss.

The Baltimore City school district said in a statement that it is “deeply concerned about the U.S. Department of Education’s sudden decision to rescind previously approved reimbursements. This decision places an immense financial strain on City Schools and directly threatens critical programs and services that support our students, families, and educators.”

The district, which serves roughly 76,000 students, had a $1.78 billion budget approved by school board commissioners for the 2024-2025 school year. And according to state documents, roughly 75% of the district’s funding comes from the state, not its residents.

Despite the high budget, losing even a few million dollars could have an impact on the district — which is exactly what its employees are trying to figure out, the district’s Executive Director of Communications Andre Riley said.

“We’re still assessing the financial impact,” Riley said.

Other districts, like Prince George’s County Public Schools and Montgomery County Public Schools, are in the same position: scrambling to figure out what this means. Prince George’s draws more than 63% of its district budget from state funding.

A statement by Prince George’s County Public Schools, which is one of the four districts that will be most impacted by the financial cuts, noted that the funds went to support mental health clinicians and immunization services, technology devices, building services, educator training and Maryland LEADS initiative, which covers teacher recruitment, wrap-around services for community schools, training in the Science of Reading, novice teacher support and teacher retention.

“We have been advised to freeze any remaining spending tied to these funds,” Prince George’s County Public Schools’ statement read. “Impacts could potentially include halting programs already in progress, cancelling or scaling back mental health services and teacher training and resources, and pausing construction projects indefinitely. However, we are financially obligated to pay vendors for goods and services already rendered.

“We urge the U.S. Department of Education to honor its commitment and ensure school districts can continue providing the services our students need to succeed.”

Montgomery County Public Schools Public Information Officer Liliana López said officials “are working out the details at this point. Our finance department is working with the state to figure out details on how this affects us.”

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