A high school in New Haven, Connecticut has laid off 70 student workers because of a federal grant cut.
Common Ground High School has 200 full time students and thousands who receive lessons. The school is unique — it focuses on urban farming and environmental education.
A $500,000 federal grant paid for the Green Job Corps, a workforce development program that employed 70 of the students.
Crystal Fernández ran it.
“Our youth have helped improve green spaces, reduce food waste, and developed innovative projects to improve public health,” Fernández said. ‘This grant was directly improving lives.”
Now, that grant is gone.
Fernández said the Environmental Protection Agency, which gave them the grant money 15 months ago, told them the project was no longer a priority — and that it promoted initiatives that conflict with the agency's policy to prioritizes merit, fairness and excellence.
“This is a blatant lie,” Fernández said. “Our project is about creating a healthier community for all New Haven residents. There is nothing unfair or discriminatory about that. This illegal cancellation holds crucial projects, disrupts partnerships and undermines the trust that we've built in our community.”
Kris, a junior at the school, had worked at a food recovery non-profit.
“A simple program at my school helped me map my career pathway; the mentorship, training and work experience made all of this possible,” Kris, who was only identified by first name, said. “I felt secure, but then the federal funding freeze happened, and everything changed.”
Fernández called for an immediate investigation into the canceled funding and for the money to be immediately reinstated.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D), U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3), and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker (D) visited the school on Monday.
All three delivered speeches of support for the school.
DeLauro was frank; more cuts could be coming. Democrats are in the minority in both chambers and can’t bring a lawsuit.
“But what we can do is we can work with the organizations that are filing suit, and we can file amicus briefs to be in concert with those that are doing this,” DeLauro said. “But we are calling out, and for my part, as the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, I will use that platform to call out abuses.”
DeLauro and Blumenthal asked Kris for a copy of their speech, and said they planned to read it into the Congressional record on the House and Senate floors.
