A recent report from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk, has revealed questionable spending of nearly $200 billion in COVID-relief funds by schools across the nation. The report, highlighted by DOGE on X (formerly Twitter), alleges a lack of oversight and minimal impact on students.

Examples of the questionable expenditures include $86,000 spent by Granite Public Schools in Utah on hotel rooms at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and $393,000 by Santa Ana Unified in California to rent a Major League Baseball stadium. Further instances include $60,000 spent on swimming pool passes and a California district's purchase of an ice cream truck using COVID relief funds.

DOGE criticized the lack of documentation for these expenditures and emphasized the Trump administration's new stringent requirements for the remaining $4 billion in funds. These requirements mandate receipts for all purchases before funding is released.

The revelations have triggered widespread criticism from local leaders and education groups. Moms for Liberty, for instance, pointed to previous school board meetings where parents questioning the use of ESSER funds were dismissed. Will O'Neil, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, deemed the MLB stadium rental "an absolute joke," while the Republican Party of Bexar County labeled the spending "outrageous."

This controversy comes on the heels of DOGE's recent termination of $370 million in Department of Education grants for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. One such terminated grant funded training for teachers to address their biases and develop "anti-racist mindsets."