Agency of Education seeks $4 million one-time boost for transformation as federal pandemic funds expire

The Agency of Education on Feb. 14 briefed a joint hearing of the House Education Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee on its FY26 budget request and plans to support a statewide education transformation.

Interim Deputy Secretary of Education Jill Briggs Campbell and Interim Chief Financial Officer Sean Cousineau presented figures showing a total AOE spending request of roughly $2.6 billion across appropriations for FY26, a decrease of about $47.5 million from the prior year driven primarily by the end of pandemic-era federal funding such as ESSER and GEER grants. "We are really trying to squeeze every penny out of this," Briggs Campbell said, describing the agency's use of liquidation-extension authority from the U.S. Department of Education to stretch remaining federal dollars into 2025.

Why it matters: The drop in federal pandemic funding shifts pressure onto state resources and into local district budgets at the same time the agency plans major governance and funding changes under the governor's education-transformation proposal. The AOE says it needs surge capacity to support districts and new district governance arrangements during the transition.

Key budget numbers and drivers Cousineau described the overall AOE request as roughly $2.6 billion across appropriations with a net decrease of $47.5 million compared with the prior year, driven largely by the expiration of pandemic grants and associated spending. The agency reported an increase in the base education grant (the Education Fund grant) of about $104.7 million in draft numbers shared with legislators, while federal grant-funded spending and grant-related personnel declined as federal ESSER/GEER awards wound down.

The a…