{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pou.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-pou-blasts-trump-administration-denial-8-million-passaic-county", "Congresswoman Pou Blasts Trump Administration Denial of $8 Million for Passaic County Schools", "2025-12-30", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Nellie Pou", "P000621", "pou.house.gov", "pou", "https://pou.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "PATERSON, NJ \u2014 Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09) today hammered the U.S. Department of Education\u2019s refusal to reverse its decision to strip $8 million in funding for Passaic County schools under the Full-Service Community Schools grant program.\n\n\u201cDespicable does not begin to describe this unjust and outrageous decision. With its denial today, the Trump Department of Education is ripping support right from the hands of our students in Paterson and Passaic,\u201d said Congresswoman Nellie Pou. \u201cWith zero warning, little explanation, no rational basis, and days before Christmas, Paterson schools were notified that $7.9 million in federal support they were counting on would be terminated. This critical aid funds a myriad of vital services including after-school programming, tutoring, counseling, food assistance, and health services \u2013 all of which will now cease to exist because of the Trump administration\u2019s callousness and cruelty.\n\n\u201cDespite the Paterson Public School District\u2019s willingness to remedy any concerns the Administration had with its programming under the grant, the Education Department refused to engage and has now hung these students and educators out to dry. At a time when the Department of Education has rolled back support to K-12 schools from coast to coast, New Jersey students will now be forced to return to their classrooms in the new year with fewer tools to help them succeed, incurring consequences that will be felt for years to come. The President promised to dismantle public education in America, and today he is doing exactly that. These cuts must be reversed and this funding must be restored.\u201d\n\nOn December 18, Congresswoman Pou sent an urgent letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon highlighting the \u201ccatastrophic harm\u201d these cuts would cause and demanded the funding be restored \u201cbefore it is too late.\u201d During Christmas week, Pou\u2019s office had been in touch with administration officials to make clear the district\u2019s willingness to work with the Department to address their priorities.\n\nFull-Service Community School grants support a myriad of resources in New Jersey including social, health, nutrition, and mental health services, early childhood education programs, juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs, and educational programs to support the next generation of workers.\n\nThe cuts impact eight Passaic County schools in the Ninth District: Passaic MLK School No. 6, Passaic High School, Joseph A. Taub Middle School, Paterson International High School, Paterson Eastside High School, Paterson School No. 16, Paterson School No. 6, and Alonzo T. Moody Academy High School.\n\nIn total, $7.9 million in federal grants will be slashed from these schools ($2.8 million for 2026, $2.8 million for 2027, and $2.3 million for 2028). Nationwide, 18 Full-Service Community School grants were scheduled for elimination by the Trump administration.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pou.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-pou-blasts-trump-administration-denial-8-million-passaic-county"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5469170175492764, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}