BEDFORD — Hundreds of students across the region could be left without afterschool programs due to a federal funding freeze of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program, according to a number of school and program administrators.

The grant, which is paid for by the federal Department of Education and administered by individual state departments of education, is designed to provide “academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools,” according to the department.

According to Lyn Skillington, one of the two program directors for the Bedford County 21st Century Community Learning Centers Consortium, funding to sustain the program through the upcoming academic year was due to be dispersed on July 1, but has been withheld without notice.

More than $53 million was allocated to Pennsylvania during the 2024 fiscal year, supporting afterschool programs run by both individual school districts and groups of districts that together administer a joint program, such as the Bedford Consortium that includes all six districts in the county.

In addition to the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, the federal government has held back funding for five other education-related grant programs totaling about $230 million allocated for Pennsylvania, according to the state Department of Education.

These funds support before and after school programming, teacher training and professional development, adult and family literacy programs, education for children from farming families, education for students learning English and more, according to PDE.

“At PDE, we are assessing the impact of this delay and will keep school leaders and local programs informed,” said Erin James, state Department of Education press secretary. “We are also determining any next steps. PDE will continue to share updates as they become available and is committed to supporting Pennsylvania schools, educators and learners throughout this process.”

Local fallout

The afterschool program is “very important” to families within the Tussey Mountain School District, according to Superintendent Jerry Shoemake.

“We’re hoping that (funding) is going to come through because, if not, there’s going to be a lot of families who are going to be looking for something to do with our children after school,” he said.

Afterschool programs like those supported by the 21st Century grant provide a safe place for children to stay if their parents are unable to be home by the time they get back from school.

Without these taxpayer-funded programs, parents will have to find an alternative arrangement for their kids, which may be prohibitively expensive.

The Bedford Consortium provides the only free afterschool program available in Bedford County, Skillington said.

“So if that funding goes away, there is no other program that can pick up any of those children,” she said.

About 500 children in Bedford County use the program on a daily basis. Roughly 100 of those students come from the Bedford Area School District, according to Superintendent Paul Ruhlman.

It is a “tremendously valuable program” for the district, he said, and has been since the start of the consortium in 2002.

Ruhlman said he and other district administrators “really don’t know” what will happen to the consortium if federal funding is frozen permanently, as it is unlikely that the participating districts will be able to shoulder the costs themselves.

“It could mean the end of the program … as it probably wouldn’t be viable,” according to Kyle Kane, Chestnut Ridge School District superintendent.

These students will be left “high and dry” without a renewal of federal money, according to Skillington.

The consortium was awarded just under $1 million during the last year of grant awards, she said, and has received about $20 million since its inception just over two decades ago.

During that time, thousands of children have benefited from its services, which prepare them for future academic and personal success, Skillington said.

“It would be a major catastrophe for many families if this funding doesn’t resume,” she said.

No schools in Centre, Blair or Huntingdon counties except the Claysburg-Kimmel School District receive funding from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, according to a list of the previous two award cohorts available on PDE’s website.

Claysburg-Kimmel and the Flood City Youth Fitness Academy, which both receive funding from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The federal Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.