SCHOOL DISTRICT leaders, government officials and heads of countless other organizations sought details and clarification about the Trump administration’s freeze on federal grants and loans, which was to take effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan issued an administrative stay, prompted by a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups that receive federal funds, pausing the federal freeze until Monday.

Even with that temporary stay, the prospect of the freeze created a “gray area” for local school officials and other leaders who rely on federal funds.

Even as the federal government clarified the scope of the freeze in the later hours of the afternoon — and the stay was granted even later — many felt they couldn’t be sure how it would affect their organizations until it actually was enacted.

Among programs expected to be safe from the freeze are those that provide direct benefits to Americans — Social Security, Medicare, Pell Grants, Head Start and rental assistance.

IMPACT ON EDUCATION

Union Local School District Superintendent Zac Shutler said he didn’t have a lot of information about how Trump’s funding freeze might affect public school districts or Union Local in particular, though he had consulted with the district’s attorneys Tuesday. Shutler said the pause is “so broad and nonspecific that we’re still in the fact-finding phase.” He said the school system’s legal counsel was working to learn what can be frozen.

“It’s very much a gray area if we’re affected,” he said, noting that he had not been notified by the federal government that school lunch or breakfast programs would be frozen. “We are waiting on a legal opinion, but I have received no word from any state or federal agency to be prepared.”

Bellaire Superintendent Derrick McAfee said there will be no impact to services offered in his district in the short term.

“It caught everybody a little bit off guard,” he acknowledged. “From what I understand, this is just a pause. Federal agencies have to justify their funding in writing back to the executive branch by Feb. 10. It’s not a cancellation, just a pause.”

He said the Bellaire Local School District will find a way to work through the process while maintaining all the programming currently in place. He said a district leadership team meeting was held Wednesday, and those leaders were advised to not panic while programs are being assessed.

“I can’t think of anything more justifiable than early literacy and feeding students,” he added.

Bridgeport Superintendent Brent Ripley did not have many specifics yet Tuesday, but he said district Treasurer Eric Meininger was digging into the matter. They shared information published in “Chalkbeat,” a nonprofit news organization that covers American education. It states the order spawned “widespread confusion about the impact of the freeze.” According to that article, “a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday that the freeze will not affect Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Act, large formula grants that provide billions to high-poverty schools and for special education services. Nor will it affect financial aid for college students.”

“Chalkbeat” also reported that the order “violates federal law that dictates when and how a president can decide not to spend money,” according to Rachel Perera, a fellow at the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Shadyside Superintendent John Haswell said he had talked with his curriculum coordinator and confirmed that Shadyside Local Schools has no open or pending federal grants that could be impacted. He planned to discuss the matter further with the district treasurer today.

Walter Skaggs, superintendent of the St. Clairsville-Richland City School District, also planned to examine the matter further today and to discuss potential impacts with the district treasurer.

Barnesville Superintendent Micah Fuchs said his district typically receives the bulk of its federal funding at the beginning of the school year.

“It could affect down the road for sure,” Fuchs said. “We will be investigating.”

He added that he expects to receive guidance in the coming days from organizations such as the Ohio School Boards Association and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators. Like Shutler, he noted that he had not received any notifications from any federal institutions.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

Martins Ferry Mayor John Davies is not yet sure how the freeze might affect the city.

“We have money already … we have been awarded for a new waterline,” Davies said.

He noted that the line will run from the water treatment plant along the west side of the Dave Bruney Football Complex, beneath Ohio 7 to the East Ohio Regional Hospital parking lot. There, the city will tie it into a line on Fourth Street and may extend it a block further west to Fifth Street.

Davies said in the event of a major waterline break like the city experienced this past weekend, crews would “still be able to supply 70% of the city through that one single line.”

Davies could not recall all the details of the award Tuesday evening, but he said the city is set to receive a $600,000-$700,000 federal grant for that project.

“Obviously we’re concerned … ,” he said. “Any funding cuts hurt.”

The mayor said the city also expects to receive federal funding to purchase an emergency generator for the hospital. He said city leaders met with engineers about that project Tuesday and that the engineers did not express any concerns.

“The engineers never mentioned anything today. I think we’re OK,” he added.

COUNTY GOVERNMENT

The Belmont County commissioners received an advisory from the County Commissioners Association of Ohio that the federal Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum to the heads of all executive departments and agencies declaring a temporary pause on federal grant, loan and other financial assistance programs.

Commissioner J.P. Dutton said he does not have any feelings about the news until there is a better understanding of what it is and what the directive entails.

“We feel pretty confident that it’s not something that we can’t look into one way or another,” he said.

Dutton said he has a good team when it comes to these types of issues and has full confidence that it will be able to take a look and see what the potential impacts are, if any.

“We have a good relationship with our federal partners, and if we need to … we’ll engage with federal partners to see if an issue would happen to arise, and we’ll go from that regard.”

He added that county Department of Job and Family Services Director Jeff Felton has been looking to see what details are emerging.