The U.S. Department of Education cancelled all the ESSER spending extensions Friday night*

 As EdWeek reports, the U.S. Department of Education told states on Friday that all extensions on ESSER spending were cancelled:

McMahon alerted state education chiefs in a letter dated Friday that the deadline to spend all remaining funds was that same day at 5 p.m. EST.

She said the additional time “was not justified” and that states and school districts “have had ample time to liquidate obligations.”

Because the department can reconsider its decisions, McMahon wrote in the letter obtained by Education Week, “you could not rely on the Department adhering to its original decision.”

“By failing to meet the clear deadline in the regulation, you ran the risk that the Department would deny your extension request,” McMahon said. “Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.”

May I add as an aside: how snarkily unprofessional in tone is this?
I haven't seen an number yet on how much is outstanding.
Also, because of the way federal funding to districts flows--they draw against the state, which then draws down from the federal government--it's not clear who is going to be left holding the bag, so to speak, on the contracts already committed to that now have to be paid. 

Remember that at least some of this was funding overdue facilities projects that ran into supply line issues (remember those?) during the pandemic, and thus needed the time for completion.

McMahon's letter does extent a new wavier option:

McMahon said in her letter to state schools chiefs that it would now consider extensions “on an individual project-specific basis.” It asked states to submit a statement explaining why an extension is “necessary to mitigate the effects of COVID on American students’ education” and “why the Department should exercise its discretion to grant your request.”

Coming on the heels of that very weird video threatening Maine, I can only guess what one will have to agree to in order to get an extension.

As there is more, I will share it. 

NOTE: this does not impact most districts (including, yes, Worcester) as most districts have fully expended their ESSER funding already. There are some that received extensions for very particular circumstances, though  

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*taking notes from our former Governor and Commissioner, one presumes