NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Yale was among a group of elite universities under fire for receiving a multi-million dollar stimulus check from the federal government. However, the university said in a statement Wednesday night that they are turning the money down.

Leaders in Harvard, Princeton, and other schools recently decided not to accept the money, but as of early Wednesday, Yale had not said they would follow suit.

The U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy Devos has been applauding the elite schools on Twitter who chose not to keep the money.

Keep in mind, these schools never applied for it. It was allocated to them from the stimulus package known as the CARES Act.

According to Devos, it’s meant to build IT and help students and staff operate remote learning tools necessary during the coronavirus pandemic shut down.

She added, if schools have that already, the money should be used to help as emergency cash grants for struggling students.

News 8 asked New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker about this early Wednesday afternoon. He said he “didn’t realize the other universities were turning it down” but that “this is a time to invest in those pole that are struggling the most.”

I didn’t realize that other universities were turning it down. I do think that now is a time when those that are struggling the most need the most support. And we’re talking with our city’s budget office and we’re talking about extreme shortfalls in our own budget because our revenues are significantly down and there are so many people running small businesses in the community, so many people that have lost their jobs. This is a time to invest in those people that are struggling the most. – New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker

In a statement, Wednesday evening, A Yale University spokesperson said the university is “pleased that Congress is providing support for higher education in the face of COVID-19,” but “the university has decided not to seek these emergency funds. Instead, we hope that the Department of Education will use Yale’s portion of the funding to support colleges and universities in Connecticut whose continued existence is threatened by the current crisis.”