Is Pres. Donald Trump's defunding of public education hurting California students?
On average, more than 90 percent of the money spent educating students in California’s grade schools, high schools, and community colleges comes from state and local sources. Still, the Trump administration’s moves to shutter the US Department of Education is being viewed as a genuine threat by teachers and school administrators statewide.
Barbara Dill-Varga, superintendent of the Aromas-San Juan (Bautista) School District, told the Hollister-based news site BenitoLink (where I serve as editor) that the firing of half of DOE‘s employees last month means it will be harder for that agency to process grants. “If we have 50 percent fewer people there to answer questions, deal with applications and provide oversight for the distribution of funds,” Dill-Varga said, "you can imagine how this is just going to muck up the works.”
The BenitoLink article, by reporter Meghan Lee, points out that the cohort likely to be hurt the most by reduced DoE funding includes disabled students, who often rely on special education programs. That sentiment was echoed by the US House Education Committee’s top Democrat, Bobby Scott, who said it would put “low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, and rural students at risk.”
In related news, an estimated 2.3 million of protesters took to the streets Saturday in a nationwide campaign, branded "Hands Off," against Pres. Donald Trump's and Elon Musk's massive cuts to government programs. They included a Washington, DC rally under the banner "Hands Off Our Schools."
