East St. Louis schools could lose $19 million in federal funds clawback

The East St. Louis school district stands to lose more than $19 million as the U.S. Department of Education claws back unspent federal pandemic-relief funding.

The district is counting on that funding to finish major heating, ventilation and air conditioning projects to improve indoor air quality — a critical component of reducing the risk of airborne illnesses like COVID-19 — in all 10 of its schools, said Sydney Stigge-Kaufman, the district’s executive director of communications.

Overall, Illinois could see over $77 million in federal education-related funds rescinded, with East St. Louis School District 189 being the hardest hit.

Previously, District 189 and 26 other Illinois districts had until spring 2026 to spend the now-threatened grants, thanks to extensions granted by the Department of Education. The extensions were necessary due to pandemic-related issues like supply chain disruptions and worker shortages, according to a press release from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Across the impacted districts, the grants were earmarked for various uses, from services for unhoused students and those with disabilities to building projects.

But in an emailed letter U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent to state agencies on Friday, March 28, the new spending deadline was set for 4 p.m. on March 28 — the same day the letter was sent.

The Illinois State Board of Education received the emailed letter at 4:03 p.m., its spokesperson Jackie Matthews said.

“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’s letter reads.

The letter adds that the districts awarded grants can submit a new extension request to the Department of Education, and that these will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The state board press release called this “an unnecessary and duplicative administrative burden on grantees (that jeopardizes) access to critical resources for the schools and students who need them most.”

District 189 is finalizing its request for an extension, Stigge-Kaufman said, adding that the district is thankful for the opportunity to possibly have the extension reinstated.

But for now, the loss of funds means the district not only faces hefty contract cancellation fees, but it also cannot complete what Stigge-Kaufman calls essential HVAC projects. Because of its low property values and an already high property tax rate, that funding cannot easily be replaced from local sources, she said.

“Our community faces asthma rates projected to exceed the average in the St. Louis metro area, Illinois and the national average. This is compounded by significant outdoor air pollution from heavily-traveled roadways and industrial activity along the Mississippi River, including carcinogenic pollutants,” Stigge-Kaufman said on behalf of the district.

“Given these conditions, maintaining high indoor air quality is crucial for safeguarding student health and supporting consistent school attendance.”

The Department of Education was asked how school districts should proceed with projects to which they already obligated the newly-revoked funding, especially those that address the needs of unhoused students and those with disabilities. Madi Biedermann, the department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications, replied:

“COVID is over. States and school districts can no longer claim they are spending their emergency pandemic funds on ‘COVID relief’ when there are numerous documented examples of misuse. The Biden Administration established an irresponsible precedent by extending the deadline for spending the COVID money far beyond the intended purpose of the funds, and it is past time for the money to be returned to the people’s bank account.”

Biedermann reiterated that grantees could submit new requests to extend their spending deadline.

Grantees should have never relied on the extension in the first place, McMahon’s letter says, since it was a discretionary decision subject to reconsideration. Instead, the she wrote, the school districts should have deferred to statute that gives grantees just 120 days after a federal grant’s “period of performance” to spend the money. For the grant source East St. Louis was depending on for its HVAC projects, the period of performance concluded at the end of September 2024, ISBE confirmed.

But those extensions were official guidance, the state board says, so some Illinois grantees made financial decisions in accordance with the extensions.

Other southwest Illinois districts impacted

In Illinois, 27 school districts, plus the state board of education and other grantees, were counting on the impacted federal funding to reimburse expenses, the according to the state board of education.

Here is what funds each affected southwestern Illinois district could lose, and what they earmarked those funds for:

• Centralia High School District 200: $561,632 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III for construction

• East St. Louis School District 189: $19.2 million ESSER III for HVAC

• Madison Community Unit School District 12: $93,688 ESSER III for construction and HVAC

• Pickneyville Community High School District 101: $87,196 ESSER III for HVAC

ESSER III is not the only affected federal funding stream. There are also grants specifically for special education, homeless children and youth, bilingual educator credentials and more.

District 200, District 12 and District 101 did not immediately return requests for comment.

This story was originally published April 4, 2025 at 6:00 AM.