How does the Department of Education impact Horry County, SC? Here’s what the agency funds
Education across the country relies on federal funding to ensure students’ success and well-being — and Horry County is no exception.
While funding ordered by Congress facilitated through large federal programs accounts for much school funding, grants from the Department of Education also play an important role in several educational Horry County programs.
President Trump’s federal employment cuts drew attention yet again Tuesday, after he announced plans to cut DOE staff in half. The mass layoffs are part of a larger plan to “shut down” the DOE entirely, according to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
If the Trump administration shutters the agency, DOE responsibilities like establishing and distributing financial aid, collecting educational data, addressing education issues, protecting students’ rights and supporting state and local education systems, would fall to other agencies, possibly at the state level.
To examine how cuts to the DOE could affect the Grand Strand, The Sun News looked at government spending data on USASpending.gov.
These are the grants awarded by the DOE in Horry County in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, the total amounts the government is obligated to pay and how much has been paid so far.
1. Horry-Georgetown Technical College Student Support Services - Trio Elite Scholars
Total: $1,330,392
Paid: $1,094,337
Period: Sept. 1, 2020 - Aug. 31, 2025
Purpose: Trio programs identify and serve individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.This grant provides supportive services to disadvantaged HGTC students to enhance their potential for completing programs and increase transfer rates to four-year institutions.
2. Horry-Georgetown Trio Upward Bound
Total: $959,358
Paid: $591,202
Period: Sept. 1, 2022 - Aug. 31, 2025
Purpose: Another Trio program, this grant is intended to generate the skills and motivation necessary for post-secondary education among eligible HGTC enrollees, including veterans, low-income and first-generation potential students.
3. Institutional Capacity for Achieving Resilience and Effectiveness (ICARE)
Total: $799,601
Paid: $307,991
Period: Oct. 1, 2023 - Aug. 30, 2025
Purpose: This grant helps HGTC strengthen management and fiscal operations and to assist in developing, planning or implementing activities like endowment building to strengthen academic quality.
Total: $499,752
Paid: $209,485
Period: Oct. 1, 2023 - Aug. 30, 2025
Purpose: This grant builds interdisciplinary capacity at Coastal Carolina University to yield leaders in early childhood special education and address the necessity for qualified personnel in special education in South Carolina.