Members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation are urging the federal government to restore part of a violence prevention grant that was revoked from the Franklin School District in July.
In 2024, Franklin schools received a Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Program grant intended to fund mental health and social service programs at the high school level.
The grant totalled $486,386 and would be disbursed over the course of two years, but on July 21, 2025, the district was notified that the $240,000 earmarked for the 2025-2026 school year had been canceled. The district’s grant use, they were told, did not align with the Trump administration’s goals.
“Rather than investing in safety efforts and training, the Trump administration has terminated a violence prevention grant for the Franklin School District. It is outrageous,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement. “This administration’s own officials have underscored the need to look holistically at the epidemic of violence in our schools, and we should be working together on this issue.”
The delegation’s letter, directed at to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, asserted that the way Franklin put its grant funding to use met the goals of the violence prevention program, which are to “develop sustainable, multidisciplinary prevention capabilities in local communities.”
“Franklin’s project precisely meets those objectives by equipping educators and administrators with the resources to understand the factors driving violence at schools and empowering students to take positive steps toward a constructive school culture,” wrote the delegation, which is still waiting for a response.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement the idea that the department is not addressing terrorism is “simply false.”
“Under President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security will use every tool and resource available to secure our border, protect the homeland, and get criminal illegal aliens out of our country. The safety of American citizens comes first,” she said.
Barbara Slayton, coordinator of school wellness at Franklin Public Schools, said its been “a challenge” to reallocate funds for necessary staff positions after the grant got canceled.
In its first year, the grant covered a portion of the salaries for the district’s school wellness coordinator, attendance and family liaison and the high school’s climate specialist.
The money would have also funded a two-week summer institute for teacher training and a host of other youth mental health trainings and resources, all of which have been discontinued.
“In Franklin, we’re perpetually way underfunded, so we’re used to making creative solutions and kind of making it work, because we don’t really have another choice,” Slayton said.
At the same time as the high school grant was awarded, a second federal grant worth $830,778 was awarded to Franklin schools through the Department of Justice’s School Violence Prevention Program. The grant also supported school safety measures and was allocated to grades K-8.
Slayton said school officials are working on a proposal to use the funds from the second grant to support the high school resources affected by the canceled grant.
Funds originally destined for other school positions, like an assistant principal at the high school, a secretary and an industrial arts teacher at the middle school, were reused to support positions under the grant.