KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
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Kansas students have to spend a lot of hours in the classroom to learn how a 3D printer works.
But the classrooms at STARBASE Academy in Lenexa are empty, and they have been for over a week.
The STEM-based program temporarily suspended its operations nationwide, including five sites in Kansas.
Seven thousand four hundred 5th grade students in Kansas were met with a sad surprise this week when they couldn't go to STARBASE Academy for a week of hands-on STEM experiments.
Eugene Ware Elementary School in Kansas City, Kansas, was set to send 50 students on Feb. 18.
"When they have these experiences and opportunities, it will give them ideas of what their life could be," Eugene Ware Elementary School principal Monica Randle said.
Randle explained in the three years her students have gone to STARBASE, she's seen science standardized testing scores soar.
"Although we are still not at 100% of our kids being proficient in science, we've seen double digit gains from this program just from going to STARBASE last year," Randle said.
The reason for the suspension stems back to federal funding, or what STARBASE's executive director explained is a lack thereof.
"Our funding gap is related to the fact that we're waiting for [federal legislators] to pass a fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget," Melissa Peat said.
The nationwide STARBASE program was put in a continuing resolution while federal legislators decide to pass one of two budgets.
The House budget would give STARBASE $20 million while the Senate budget would give the program $60 million.
"Considering we operated on $53 million last year, that's a little problematic when you look at the House's number," Peat said.
STARBASE operated on the House's $20 million since October while in the continuing resolution. On Feb. 4, all programs shut down as the money ran out.
"That funding across those 90 [nationwide] sites has already been committed to the existing program that had already been in operation," Peat said.
It's not just the kids who are missing out. Twenty four STARBASE teachers in Kansas are going without pay.
"It's so fun to see those sparks start and create scientists around every corner," educator Alexis Forge said.
Forge attended STARBASE as a student in Topeka. Now, she's teaching the next generation of scientists. Or she was before the temporary suspension.
"It had an enormous impact on how and why and really in the classroom how I taught even before I was at STARBASE," Forge said. "I don't think I would be the educator I am today without STARBASE's impact."
So students and scientists nationwide are in a waiting game until March 14, which is the deadline of when legislators have to pass a budget.
"It is frustrating to be in this holding pattern where you see the missed opportunities sliding by day by day," Peat said.
KSHB 41 News reached out to Kansas federal elected officials, but we have not heard back yet.
"I did cancel all of our buses for this program but if the federal government is able to put that money back in place tomorrow, I could go back to scheduling those buses," Randle said. "If people are able to reach out to their legislators and ask them to help, that could help put the funding back in place."
However, the delay hasn't dampened educator's spirits.
"We're just waiting to ride the wave of when we will have kids again," Forge said. "Not if we'll have kids again, but when we'll have kids again."
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