Trump’s freeze on education funding shorts NC schools recovering from Helene

NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson said President Trump’s freeze on federal education funding includes $18 million going to western NC schools recovering from Helene.

Michael McElroy

July 16, 2025

Kids eat snacks in their "cabin groups" at the Project:Camp pop-up daycamp for families impacted by Hurricane Helene in Brevard, N.C., Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Gabriela Aoun Angueira)

NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson said President Trump’s freeze on federal education funding includes $18 million going to western NC schools recovering from Helene.

The day before federal funding was meant to kick in for North Carolina schools to use in their budgets for the coming school year, the Trump administration sent a letter to state officials saying it was freezing $165 million in spending.

That includes $18 million for schools still recovering from Hurricane Helene, NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson said on Monday. That’s part of why Jackson said he’s joined a lawsuit to block the Education Department from reneging on the funding, which Congress had already approved and public schools were counting on. Scroll below for a breakdown.

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