U.S. Department of Education

The district has over $200 million in reserves, but Superintendent Millicent Borishade said the increased expenditures are “unsustainable.”

The attorneys general said an expected $219 million in federal education funding used to pay for after-school and summer programs for 1.4 million students nationwide could be in jeopardy.

The completion of major heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades in all 10 of District 189’s schools hinges on this funding.

In March, the Trump administration announced it would no longer release remaining pandemic-era funding to states, which has left the district on the hook for over $19 million in repairs to heating and cooling systems in schools.

East St. Louis School District 189 stood to lose the most money — $19 million for a major HVAC project — of any Illinois district. The district's spokeswoman said the judge's decision is "encouraging."

Five schools in East St. Louis are all set to lose their after-school programs. If that happens, just two of the district’s programs will be left, and approximately 300 students will be impacted.

Edwardsville and East Alton will see new board leadership as school districts have struggled to navigate budget shortfalls after pandemic-era relief money dried up last year.

The future of hundreds of investigations into possible civil rights violations at schools across the Midwest, and thousands more nationwide, are in question after the Trump Administration shuttered seven of 12 Department of Education offices charged with running the investigations.

The U.S. Department of Education can only be fully closed through an act of Congress.

If federal dollars were to disappear, union members and the congresswoman say classroom sizes could get bigger with fewer teachers and resources for students with special needs.