The U.S. Department of Education has frozen billions of dollars in school grants, impacting school districts and after-school programs in Georgia.
2025 Funds for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, or CLCC grants, are being withheld by the federal government, leaving some Georgia after-school and summer care programs in a state of confusion.
Statewide After-School Network Director Katie Landes said Georgia’s CLCC grant allocation was over $40 million and serves 27,000 students.
“This funding in Georgia, around 60% of the grantees are school districts, and so this is often a primary source of funding for a school district. To operate after-school or summer programming is particularly as important in some of our more rural communities in Georgia,” she said.
The freeze in funding may or may not be permanent, Landes said, but it is causing confusion for grantees.
“For those sites who may not be able to operate the same way or at all if they don’t have access to funds,” she said. “This could be, it has the potential to be a big surprise for families and to really have some disastrous consequences for a family who are expecting a safe and enriching place for their child to go to after the school day ends while they are at work that they may not have access to.”
This story comes to The Georgia Sun through a reporting partnership with GPB a non-profit newsroom focused on reporting in Georgia.
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Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
Sarah Kallis | GPB
Sarah Kallis is the Politics Reporter at GPB. She is also the capitol correspondent for GPB's Lawmakers.
