Only two months after his second presidential inauguration, Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that prompted the start of the dismantling of the Department of Education. His executive order has allowed layoffs within this department, redistribution of powers to the Department of Labor and cuts in federal funding for education.
According to a report by the N.C. Department of Instruction, 11% of the entire state education budget is federal dollars. Martinette Horner, clinical associate professor at the UNC School of Education, said though federal cuts impact various streams of funding, it’s more important to focus on what’s going on in our own backyard.
“There’s some wide disparities across our state in terms of funding and what local districts are able to do or not do to provide for their students,” Horner said.
The issue that arises from federal cuts are the means in which the state and local government decide to fill the monetary gaps that are left, Horner said. The capacity for different school districts to adjust their funding models differs by demographics like location and population.
School districts throughout the country are feeling the effects of this problem and have begun finding themselves unable to make up the money. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School District located in the Piedmont Triad is experiencing a budget crisis due to a mix of overspending and now dried up federal money.
The N.C. Office of the State Auditor reported “poor budgetary practices” that contributed to the district’s $46 million deficit. The poor financial choices included over $75 million in bonuses during fiscal years 2022-23, misuse of temporary COVID-era funds to support salaries that should have been removed, and manually overriding the budget 311 times to approve purchase orders.
LaTida Smith, president of The Winston Salem Foundation, said as a result there have been layoffs of teachers and administrative staff, cuts to necessary resources for teachers and students, and even school closings.
“The anticipation of those cuts, the cuts themselves, and the reshuffling of staff at different school buildings, even if they were retained, has been very disruptive and concerning for our entire community,” Smith said.
The Foundation, a local philanthropic organization, is working with the community’s Education Collaborative to cover the cost of classroom supplies, school fees, and books. Despite local efforts, State Auditor Dave Boliek said it’s going to take “real discipline” to get out of the deficit in an August press release.
“Our schools need to be focused on teaching students. That becomes a lot more difficult when you’re staring down a $46 million budget deficit,” Boliek said in the release.
Horner, who has worked in education for 29 years, said she has seen cases like the WS/FCS District where budget issues begin as a district’s pathway to support teachers through financial incentives during difficult times or when the state will not budge.
Beginner salaries for teachers in North Carolina have increased slightly over the last few years, however, teachers in their mid-careers are found stuck at the same salary for 10-15 years with little opportunities for raises.
“Folks were trying in any way they can to provide hiring bonuses because we are in a teacher shortage,” Horner said.
With mass layoffs at the federal and local levels, problems like student literacy and inaccessibility arise as teachers aren’t able to connect students with resources like special education programs, or recruit teachers in Title I and predominately Black schools.
The state has yet to pass an overall budget leaving many monetary gaps in the Department of Public Instruction open and students, like those in WS/FCS, left at a disadvantage. The current climate leaves student literacy and equal opportunity at risk as federal funding dwindles and attacks on public education continue.
