Federal reversal is good news for school funding, but doubts remain.

After weeks of uncertainty, the U.S. Department of Education announced on July 25 that it would release billions of dollars it withheld from school districts in Monterey County and across the nation.

In California alone, that sum is about $900 million; it’s over $25 million for the Monterey County Office of Education.

“This administration deserves absolutely no credit for that decision. It was this administration that averted that crisis, that they themselves set in motion,” said U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, during a press conference on July 28.

Deneen Guss, MCOE’s superintendent of schools, says education shouldn’t be political, but rather about making sure students get the education they need in school to succeed.

On July 10, the Trump Administration barred undocumented immigrants from Head Start, a program for low-income families that offers free food, preschool and basic medical services for kids under 5. “What’s to say that next [they] are not going to come after other federally funded programs? Where does it stop?” Guss says.

They highlighted the continuing battle to keep key programs like migrant education, English language acquisition, after-school programs, adult education and others.

School district officials were working against the clock to devise a plan to either keep programs or seek alternatives such as using general funds or reserves to cover costs temporarily. It also impacted staffing; MCOE sent layoff notices to 30 migrant education workers, set to become effective on Sept. 7.

The chaos isn’t over, however, and those layoff notices have not been rescinded; school districts still don’t know when they will receive the funds or if they will be paid in full.

For the upcoming fiscal year, Trump’s proposed budget includes reducing K-12 education funding by 15 percent.

For now, MCOE is sending letters weekly to lawmakers to advocate for maintaining funding for the 2026-27 school year.