June 26, 2026
Kool Kids care program will continue despite loss of grant
KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer
While the school year is officially underway, Tullahoma City Schools announced that its Kool Kids extended care program will be continuing in the district.
School officials issued a statement on Thursday, Aug. 1, revealing that its application for the 21st Century Learning Centers Grant was not approved. The grant provided funding for before and after school programming required student tutoring, enrichment opportunities and summer programming.
The school district applied for the grant earlier this year, and will be able to apply for 21st Century Learning Centers Grant the again in 2026.
“This news is disappointing as our students, families, community and staff benefitted from the programs that this grant covered,” TCS Director of Schools Dr. Catherine Stephens said. “While this is disheartening, the district will continue to explore different avenues and share pertinent information as it becomes available.”
For more information about Kool Kids, visit www.tcsedu.net/departments/extended-care.
Similarly, the Coffee County School district also announced that it was also not approved for the grant, thus losing funding for its Excellence Afterschool Program. In a statement to sister paper The Manchester Times, Excellence Program Director Tonya Garner said the district has sent out a survey to families to see if they were willing to pay a small amount for their kids to go to the afterschool program. Out of 660 responses, approximately 400 said they were in favor. She added the school board will be presented different budgets and to receive feedback on how they should proceed.
Coffee County Director of Schools Dr. Charles Lawson added there were three times as many requests in the state for the 21st Century Learning Centers Grant than there was to fund. He added the loss of the grant was an example of the importance of federal funding in public schools.
“I will say this, you hear a lot of politicians that talk about eliminating federal funding from schools,” Lawson said. “This was federal funding. You eliminate federal funding, and you tend to eliminate programs and that is what happened here, and it is a small part of the funding that we get but it still has a big impact.”
Nathan Havenner contributed to this story.
