Wisconsin Schools Still Waiting for ‘Lifeline’ Federal Funding

Winskill Elementary School on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Lancaster, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

More than a week after the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Wisconsin school officials told WPR they’re still waiting for funds that one school official described as a “lifeline” for his district.

Every year, more than 1,000 school districts nationwide receive direct financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education through a program called Impact Aid. Most school districts get the bulk of their funding from local property taxes.

But some districts contain large portions of non-taxable federal land, including national forests and Native American reservations. Impact Aid was established in 1950 to help fund these districts.

Twenty schools in Wisconsin receive Impact Aid funding. The agency sent more than $22 million to Wisconsin in the 2025 fiscal year, according to an estimate from the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools.

A spokesperson for the organization told WPR earlier this month that the first round of payments were expected in mid-October, but cuts to the Department of Education and the government shutdown delayed this money being sent to Wisconsin schools.

Wisconsin school districts on tribal land are not receiving federal payments due to shutdown

More than one week after the federal government reopened, Wisconsin schools are still waiting.

Josh Ernst is the superintendent of the Lac du Flambeau School District. He said these federal funds account for nearly 40 percent of his district’s budget.

“If we weren’t to have Impact Aid, our doors would be closing within the year,” he told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

Government shutdown adds new complexity to longstanding funding uncertainty

Ernst said schools typically receive the federal money in three payments, but the payments can also be more or less frequent. The amount of money the Department of Education gives also varies.

“It is really challenging to build your budget based off of your best guess,” Ernst said.

The Impact Aid program has not been fully funded since 1969, according to the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools — meaning school districts don’t receive the full calculated amount of aid they’re supposed to every year.

Beth Paap is the district administrator for the Bayfield school district. A large portion of her district covers the Red Cliff Reservation near the Apostle Islands.

She told WPR that school officials don’t know what’s happening with the funding.

“It’s been a frustrating wait-and-see process,” Paap said. “The shutdown has thrown a monkey wrench in how we’re moving forward with budget allocation for this fiscal year.”

The Department of Education announced Tuesday that it will move several of its programs to other federal departments in an effort to further dismantle the agency. The School Superintendents Association announced that the Impact Aid program will be transferred to the Department of Labor.

Paap said she’s confident that the funding will arrive, but her district is preparing for a long delay.

“We already have in place short term borrowing (plans), if we do need to pivot to that,” Paap said. “The last thing I want to do is mid-school year start to lay off staff and really look at cutting our expenses in that severe way, because that would have a profound effect on our students and their learning this academic year.”

Both Paap and Ernst said they hope attention on Impact Aid will pressure the federal government to improve communication and funding for the program.

“We’re talking about the education of our children,” Paap said. “To wring our hands while we wait … it’s telling our children: ‘Sorry, you’re not worth all of the funds that you should receive.’”

Listen to the WPR report

Wisconsin schools still waiting for ‘lifeline’ federal funding was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.