FARGO — School districts in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and nationwide, received news they’ve been waiting for regarding more than $5 billion in frozen federal funds.
On Friday, July 25, those K-12 education dollars, approved by Congress but withheld for review by the Trump administration,
were released for the 2025-26 school year.
Fargo Public Schools hadn’t received official word about the change on Friday, but Superintendent Cory Steiner was happy with the development.
“We are optimistic about the news of federal funds being released to schools and look forward to resuming our programming as intended. This is a great day for kids and for our staff,” Steiner said in a statement to The Forum.
The following funds were up in the air: Title II, for preparing, training and recruiting high-quality educators; Title III, for students who need help learning the English language; and Title IV, for student support and academic enrichment.
Many school districts constructed their budgets for the upcoming school year factoring in those funds, which were expected to be released July 1.
Instead, the funds were frozen on June 30 for review by the U.S. Education Department.
The reason, according to the Trump administration, was that an initial review found signs the money was misused to
subsidize an alleged “radical leftwing agenda,” Reuters reported.
The frozen funds were even greater, at more than $6 billion, until last week,
Contacted last week, Steiner said the Fargo district had put on hold most of its educator training, curriculum writing and any other tasks tied to Title I-IV funds.
“I think our conversations now are … What would be our strategy in the Fargo public school system if this large source of funding went away?” he said at the time.
Though funds have officially been released, amounts that school districts receive for 2025-26 are not yet known.
For perspective, Fargo Public Schools received nearly $1.9 million in Title II-IV funds for 2024-25 and West Fargo Public Schools received more than $1.5 million, according to figures from the North Dakota Department of Education.
A statement from West Fargo schools indicated the district was waiting on that same amount for 2025-26, at just over $1.5 million in federal funds.
“However, due to strong grant management, there is approximately $1 million in federal funds from last year that will roll over and be available for use this year. The district has developed a plan to address the remaining $500,000 gap through savings from the previous fiscal year, without the need to utilize reserves or put any positions at risk,” the district said in a statement, prior to the latest announcement.
Across the Red River, Moorhead Area Public Schools were also playing the waiting game for federal funds.
Title II, III and IV funds typically account for approximately $410,000 in annual support for the district, according to a statement from Jeremy Larson, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning.
While the immediate effect on Moorhead Area Public Schools would be limited due to careful fiscal management and proactive planning, he said, a more significant impact is expected in the 2026–27 school year.
In light of that, and to avoid future cuts, Larson said the Moorhead school board has approved putting the matter to voters this fall.
The Nov. 4 election ballot will have two questions for Moorhead schools:
a $4.37 million per year operating referendum and a $1.5 million per year capital projects levy, which over ten years, would raise a grand total of $58.7 million if approved.
