GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Shrinking federal education dollars could cost Gwinnett County Public Schools millions in support for students most in need, according to the district’s proposed FY2026 budget.
Title I funding, which supports high-poverty schools and low performing students, is projected to fall by around $19 million.
However, district officials said that the Title I funds are awarded for 15 month periods, with whatever isn’t spent rolling over to the following year.
Speaking with Channel 2 Action News to provide more clarity on the funding status, the district said “the reduced amount shown in the budget book is not a result of any federal cut in funding but of the normal combination of the grant award and carryover of unspent funds.”
Programs for students learning English could lose nearly $5 million, two of some of the biggest potential decreases within the district’s Special Revenue Fund, which mostly manages federal grant money.
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“These aren’t just wish list programs,” State Rep. Marvin Lim (D-Norcross) told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson. “These are very important programs for all of our particularly underserved communities.”
Lim and other advocates warn that a drop in funding could directly affect resources like teachers and curriculum designed to help immigrant and English-learning students stay on track.
“Sometimes they don’t feel like they’re part of the bigger school community,” said Santiago Marquez, CEO of the Latin American Association. “That leads to more, you know, an increase in them dropping out.”
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But Georgia House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry) said changes are necessary as the federal government faces long-term fiscal challenges.
“The federal government has an out of control spending problem,” Efstration said. “There’s $36.8 trillion in debt with no plan to fix it.”
Gwinnett’s proposed 2026 budget shows a $28.5 million drop in the Special Revenue Fund, also because pandemic relief money is gone and other federal funding is shrinking too.
Again sharing more information to provide additional clarity, district officials told Channel 2 Action News that the “current anticipated reduction in overall special revenue also referenced at $28M is also due to the end of ESSER funds.”
ESSER funds were a series of grants and program funding efforts allocated through the CARES Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriation Act signed into law by President Donald Trump, and the American Rescue Plan Act signed by former President Joe Biden in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ESSER funds were delivered in three rounds, dependent on which legislation they came from.
As it stands, the district said they have not received any notifications saying their Title I funds were being reduced.
At a recent town hall, Gwinnett County Interim Superintendent Dr. Al Taylor downplayed the impact of federal funding uncertainty, noting it accounts for just 6% of the district’s nearly $3 billion budget.
“Some of the executive orders might actually change some of our practices and functions,” Taylor said. “Funding is not an area that we’re concerned with.”
Neither the proposed White House budget nor the district’s plan is final, but Lim says the risk to vulnerable students is real.
“I’m certainly advocating for Gwinnett County Public Schools to make up that amount,” he said.
Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to include additional details shared by Gwinnett County Public Schools regarding budget changes and federal funding.
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