The country's public school and higher education systems netted nearly $31 billion combined in the $2 trillion stimulus the House passed Friday to combat the economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic – an amount stakeholders say is hardly sufficient to bolster the financial crises they face.

The $30.8 billion education stabilization fund will send $14.3 billion to institutions of higher education, far below the $50 billion college and university officials estimated they'd need to survive the financial hit they're taking after the majority closed their campuses after spring break and pivoted to distance learning. The country's K-12 schools will net about $13.5 billion, also a fraction of the $75 billion it had requested to stay afloat as more than 55 million students are out of school.

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The rest of the funds – about 10% or $3 billion – will go to governors for emergency education costs.

"Campuses are losing staggering sums," Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,700 colleges and universities, said in a statement. "If these needs are not met, students are going to suffer financially and may drop out."

Colleges and universities are hemorrhaging millions of dollars as they refund students for room and board and try to establish effective online learning platforms.

"The amount of money it provides to students and higher education institutions remains woefully inadequate," Mitchell said of the stimulus package.

On the higher education front, the bill also allows borrowers to defer federal student loan payments for six months, without added interest or penalties. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced earlier this week in a separate action that the department will stop collecting payments and garnishing wages from borrowers who default.

"Today's coronavirus bill is a life raft — but not a rescue boat — for the millions of young people who are still grappling with how they will make ends meet as they navigate challenges like unemployment, student loan debt, and paying their daily expenses," Jesse Barba, senior director of external affairs for Young Invincibles, said in a statement.

Elementary and secondary education groups said the funding is a good start, but not nearly enough to secure the country's public school system.

"As revenues decline and state and local governments' budgets suffer, Congress must help prevent dramatic cuts from hitting our schools, impacting student services and ensure educators do not lose their jobs," Lily Eskelsen García, president of the 3.2 million member National Education Association, said. "The inclusion in this bill of an education stabilization fund was essential, but we know and Congress must understand that tens of billions dollars more will be needed going forward to truly support all students, counter the learning loss happening through school closures and prevent educator layoffs."

The groups were especially angry that the bill doesn't provide dedicated funding for the federal E-Rate program to provide WiFi hotspots in low-income neighborhoods. A group of 16 national education groups had written to Congress asking for $2 billion for that.

Notably, the bill provides broad authority for DeVos to waive states from their obligations under the federal K-12 education law – a tool used during the Obama administration to relieve states from the mandates of No Child Left Behind so long as they agreed to adopt a new set of education policies, like new academic standards and tests, new teacher evaluation and compensation systems.

She's already approved plans for 45 states who won't be administering annual tests as required under the law.