But this week, the classrooms are empty.
“It’s a quiet day right now,” said Rick Simms, director of Starbase One.
Three Michigan Starbase programs suddenly shut down Friday, Feb. 7 due to a lack of federal funding. Starbase, a nonprofit, is supported by the U.S. Department of Defense, but its funding recently ran out as lawmakers are still negotiating the 2025 budget.
“Right now, we’re basically in a standstill until Congress decides what they’re going to do,” Simms said.
Since the federal government started the current fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2024, without a budget in place, it’s been operating on a “continuing resolution” to keep programs funded.
But during the continuing resolution, the temporary funding earmarked for Starbase ran out because of a discrepancy between the chambers: the U.S. House of Representatives proposed $60 million for Starbase while the U.S. Senate suggested $20 million.
“Those limited funds that were released by the DoD have since dried up,” Simms said.
The funding gap has impacted 90 Starbase programs across the country.
In Michigan, Starbase reaches an estimated 8,300 kids annually and employs 24 people through programs at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Battle Creek Air National Guard Base and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.
Because of the funding issues, almost the entire staff, except for three site directors who Simms said are keeping “the lights on,” have been furloughed.
“Due to the continuing resolution, some Starbase program activities and contracts have been impacted causing a reduction in program capacity,” a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement.
Starbase gives fifth graders, mostly from low-income Title 1 schools, a chance to see science, technology, engineering and math applied in the real world. They also get hands-on experience with technologies like robotics, 3-D printing and chemistry.
More than 1.6 million children across the United Stateshave benefited from the educational outreach program.
“This is an opportunity that kids typically wouldn’t get unless parents were having to reach deep into their pockets and pay hundreds of dollars,” Simms said. “Everything is provided for them, and it’s really key in creating inspiration for these students.”
Selfridge Air was the nation’s first Starbase program, which launched in 1991 with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. A year later, Congress signed legislation making Starbase an official Department of Defense program.
It’s since been replicated at 88 bases across the country, Puerto Rico and Guam.
Starbase funding has been on the chopping block before, with former U.S. Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, calling it a “nice-to-have but not-necessary-to-have program,” when he tried ending it in 2013.
But in recent years, Michigan’s U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, has backed boosting funding for the “highly successful program.”
“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I urged my colleagues on the committee to provide adequate funding for this important program. As we work to pass government funding legislation in the coming months, I’ll keep fighting to make sure STARBASE receives the resources it needs to continue to benefit Michigan students,” Peters said in a statement to MLive.
Since 1991, this is the first time the program has run out of funding.
It’s unclear what the fate of Starbase will be, especially under the new Trump administration that’s been eyeing federal funding cuts in recent weeks.
Starbase’s future now hinges on Congress setting the budget at $60 million — a sliver of the $841 billion defense budget. If the House decides to match the Senate’s lower recommendation, then Starbase could face permanent closure.
“It’s a shame to see 34 years of what this program brings, the talent, the knowledge, just to see that wiped away,” Simms said.
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