HELENA — ExplorationWorks, Rocky Mountain Development Council's Head Start, and Montana Learning Center (MLC) are preparing to make changes after getting news of federal funding cuts or not knowing if that money will come in.
"The collateral damage of these decisions that are being made in Washington D.C. on the federal level are the children in our community," said Sara Feilzer, program director at ExplorationWorks.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services administered a three-year grant to ExplorationWorks, which was in its first year of receiving the funding.
With no warning, the money became no longer accessible after the nonprofit received an email on April 10th saying the grant was now unavailable.
"I'm not sure if there was a reason they can pinpoint," said Feilzer, "I think it was sweeping."
The grant allowed ExplorationWorks to provide outreach STEM programs in the tri-county area, like at local libraries and Rocky Head Start.
Head Start is a federal program that aims to provide under-served families with resources like preschool education and daily nutrition for kids.
Head Start serves around 4,000 children in Montana, but that could be changing.
"There is a proposal out there right now to fully cut Head Start from the federal services," said Ashley Pena-Larson, Rocky Head Start Director. "That would impact over 800,000 students in the US and would be detrimental to families."
Outside of Helena, Montana Learning Center has also been bracing for impacts to their NASA programming.
Without the NASA grant they have gotten for the past 10 years, MLC might need to cut about one-fourth of its programs, or it may no longer be able to offer them for free to kids and educators.
"It's hard to plan for that and then not have it," said Ryan Hannahoe, executive director of MLC," It's currently up in the air, which is uncertain. This is already promised grant money that we still don't have access to, even with May coming up."
