The Wake County Public School System is implementing another 90-day hiring freeze for district office positions and any vacant positions funded by federal grants that the Trump administration has paused.
The 90-day freeze also includes out-of-state travel and some spending.
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The hiring freeze will affect central office staff and any vacant positions in teacher training, English language instruction, and student support and academic enrichment — if those positions were funded by the affected grants.
The district announced the decision in a memo to families Wednesday, citing the Trump administration's withholding of an expected $8.1 million in federal grant funding that was due to states by July 1, to be distributed to districts that applied for it.
"These actions are being taken to maintain fiscal flexibility through this transition," the notice to families reads.
The district has already begun the 2025-26 school year, with about 40,000 students returning this week to the district's 39 year-round schools.
Statewide, about $168.8 million is being withheld, pending a Trump administration review, and more than $6 billion is being withheld nationwide.
The federal pause affects nearly all school systems and charter schools in North Carolina, as well as dozens of nonprofits that provided before- and after-school programming.
The six K-12 grant funding programs that are held up support teacher training, before- and after-school education programs in low-performing schools, enrichment programs, English language education for immigrant students, immigrant student and family support, and special education services for migrant students.
In statements to WRAL News, the Trump administration has said they are reviewing the programs for alignment with administration priorities on immigration and other cultural issues. They have not provided a timeline for when the review would be complete or responded to questions about the possibility of any funding being canceled.
The Trump administration has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in entire federal grant programs that the Biden administration had awarded for teacher training and mental health, including more than $15 million for the Wake County system. Trump officials have said too many of the grants were used for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The pause comes as Wake and other school systems are facing financial challenges related to rising costs, stagnant enrollments and attempts to keep programs that were funded by one-time federal pandemic stimulus dollars.
Wake County had a 90-day freeze on some hiring and spending that started in March, largely to save money ahead of anticipated funding needs.
Cumberland County Schools told WRAL News on Wednesday they haven't made any decisions on how to respond to the federal funding freeze.
Numerous positions are funded by the grants, including teachers, mentors, tutors, guidance counselors, social workers, beginning teacher coordinators and a limited English proficiency teacher. It also funded staff training and instructional supplies.