ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The White House announced Tuesday that it would be withholding roughly $6 billion in federal money intended to fund after-school, summer enrichment and teacher development programs.

The announcement came the same day school districts in Georgia had to finalize their budgets, and sent them scrambling to figure out what to do. The funds, which have already been allocated by Congress, are sure to be fought over in court, but perhaps not in time for the fast-approaching start of the academic year.

“The department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the president’s priorities and the department’s statutory responsibilities,” read a memo from the Education Department, first obtained by The Associated Press.

According to the National Education Association, Georgia stands to lose around $100 million allocated mostly for after-school and summer programs.

“Parents rely on those after-school programs,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators. “Here we are, 30 days before the beginning of school in the vast majority of our districts, and parents are scrambling because they don’t know if that after-school care is going to be there.”

Parents who work nine-to-five jobs, second jobs or late shifts heavily rely on after-school programming to ensure a safe environment for their children. The programs often serve as additional learning time for students as well.

The funds were also intended to provide additional teacher training and English learning classes, and will mostly impact low-income families and students of color. The cuts will profoundly impact public school districts, who often don’t have extra money in the budget to make up for lost federal funding. In Georgia, over 90% of students attend public schools.

“The impacts will be immediate and severe to every single school system in the United States,” said Jeff Hubbard with the Cobb County Association of Educators. “School systems will be forced to attempt to backfill their budgets just after final budgets have been passed with absolutely no warning.”

Hubbard warns the withholding of the money could also lead to the elimination of jobs, and called the move “devastating.”

Parents who utilize the programs under fire agree.

Tatjyana Elmore works with the Black Childhood Development Institute in Atlanta and also sends her kids to a summer enrichment program at Atlanta Technical College partly funded by federal dollars.

“This is not just something that’s a niche; this is a serious essential need for our community,” she said. “These families need that after-school care, they need to be able to work their daily work schedule without preventing them from losing their jobs because they don’t have a place for their child to go for after school care.”

It’s not just public schools that could suffer losses. Places like the 15 locations of APEC Centers (After School, Preschool, Employment and Community) and their 1,300 students, as well as the The Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta also received federal dollars for their summer and after-school programs, and are now facing down the possibility of cutting them back, or eliminating them.

“After-school and summer learning programs are cornerstones of academic success, public safety, and family stability for millions of young people — but right now, we stand at a dangerous tipping point,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s President and CEO Jim Clark. “Every moment of delay puts more kids at risk. This isn’t a partisan issue — it’s about putting kids first.”

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