Kentuckians believe that every student deserves opportunity, resources, and support to reach their full potential no matter where they live, the color of their skin, or how much their family earns. However, for years now, public education has been under attack in the Commonwealth.
Last year, Kentucky politicians backed by out-of-state donors tried to pass Constitutional Amendment 2, a voucher scheme aimed at stripping public tax dollars away from our public schools and handing it over to unaccountable private schools. Kentucky voters shot that down by a 2 to 1 margin at the ballot box, making it plain they want their hard-earned tax dollars invested in our public schools, which more than 90% of kids attend. Now we face a federal attack on our public schools with massive staff cuts aimed at destroying the operational effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE).
Much of the work the federal agency does goes unnoticed unless you are directly involved in funding public education. Federal grants like Title I, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), Pell grants, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers play a crucial role in ensuring fair access to quality education across Kentucky and the nation. If the staff cuts at USDOE become permanent, class sizes will soar, job training programs will be cut, higher education will become even more expensive and out of reach for middle class families, special education services for students with disabilities will be taken away, and student civil rights protections will be ignored. The financial impact on Kentucky’s schools will be devastating.
Right now, more than 459,000 students in Kentucky receive Title I funds through USDOE funding. Kentucky public schools receive $281 million in vital federal funding to hire teachers and other school support staff. Special education programs will suffer from a loss of $197 million in USDOE funding that goes to more than 109,000 Kentucky students.
Kentucky is one of nine states that receives $1 of federal funding for every $5 it spends on education. Some rural school districts receive as much as 1/3 of their overall funding from the USDOE. Without those federal funds efficiently administered by USDOE staff, many of Kentucky’s school districts will be unable to operate effectively, if at all. To see the impact of federal funding cuts on your local schools, read this report from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy: https://kypolicy.org/how-federal-funding-helps-your-school-district/
Students get one shot at an education. Ensuring a quality public education for every Kentucky student is KEA’s mission, and our members will never stop working to protect our students, public education, and our communities.
We call on Kentucky’s Congressional delegation to stand up for our schools and publicly oppose these massive cuts, and to oppose any legislation that threatens to cut critical federal funding for our students and schools. We call on Kentuckians to call and write their U.S. Representative and tell them to oppose this executive order. Visit www.KEA.org/Congress to find your U.S. Representative’s local office phone and their Washington, D.C. office.
(David Patterson, Director of Communications – Kentucky Education Association)