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WestEd briefing: continuing resolution, rescissions and a possible K-12 block grant could reshape funding
Summary
WestEd policy director Alicia Kimovich told the board that a continuing resolution has restored most formula funds but left competitive grants uncertain, warned of potential rescissions and "silent" rescissions, and outlined how the president's FY2026 request could cut roughly $12 billion from K'12 discretionary funding and consolidate programs into a block grant.
Alicia Kimovich, director of policy and outreach for WestEd, briefed trustees on federal appropriations and budget developments that could affect local education funding.
Kimovich noted that Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep funding at current levels but did so without the customary explanatory bill report. "This CR passed without the bill report, which means there's flexibility that the administration has," she said, and that flexibility has already shown up in reassignments of some funds.
She told the board that most formula grants were unfrozen and have flowed to states, but many competitive grant programs remain uncertain. "There is no news on those competitive grants," Kimovich said. She estimated — as a rough, non-public figure — that about $1 billion in competitive grant obligations may still be unresolved and cautioned that unspent competitive grants could be subject to rescission or quietly go unspent (a so-called "silent rescission").
Kimovich walked trustees through possible effects of budget reconciliation and the president's FY2026 request. She described new work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid being discussed in reconciliation, warning those changes could reduce program eligibility and have downstream effects on school-based health services billed to Medicaid. She also summarized the administration's proposal to consolidate unspecified K'12 programs into a single block grant, calling it a major structural change that could reduce the federal role in directing how funds are spent.
Board members asked follow-up questions about timing for Medicaid work requirements and potential programmatic impacts; Kimovich said she would confirm timing details and follow up with staff. Trustees praised the clarity of the presentation and asked whether WestEd could provide periodic updates; Kimovich said she would raise that request with her organization.
